Ask Us Anything: Backpacking the High Sierra in 2023

Last week I wrote about the High Sierra’s record-breaking 2023-23 snowpack and its implications for trip planning, gear selection, and essential skills. In short, this season will be far from normal. Are you ready for that?

This week Katie Gerber and I are hosting an “Ask Us Anything” online event to answer your questions about backpacking in the High Sierra this season. Our primary goal is to help make your trip safe(r), and hopefully more feasible and fun, too.

Event detailsWednesday, May 316 PM to 7 PM Pacific Time (7pm MT, 8pm CT, and 9pm ET)FreeContent

We’d like to stay focused on the:

Likely conditions during the 2023 backpacking season, andTheir implications on trip planning, gear selection, and essential skills.

But we can also answer more standard questions, like about permits, recommended routes, and thru-hiking logistics.

We want the discussion to be driven by viewers, by way of questions. During any lulls, Katie and I will be prepared with quick tutorials on Sentinel satellite imagery, river levels, and my creek hazards map and list, and more.

Send us your questions

Already have questions? Email them to highsierra@andrewskurka.com, and we’ll try to answer them during the broadcast.

How to watch and participate

To watch on YouTube, click here.

To ask questions, use the chat tool in the upper-right corner of the window.

I will post a recording of the stream here afterwards.

About Katie Gerber

Katie has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, Oregon Desert, and Colorado Trails, as well as the Wind River High Route and an end-to-end thru-hike of the Grand Canyon. She’s been guiding for me since 2020 and joined this year full-time as the Co-Director.

About Andrew Skurka

Most pertinent to this conversation, I have been backpacking in the High Sierra for nearly twenty years, including as a guide for twelve. I’ve thru-hiked the JMT, the JMT/PCT through the High Sierra (twice, including once in the second half of May), and the Sierra High Route; and I wrote the guidebooks for the Kings Canyon High Basin Route and Yosemite High Route.

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