Kings Peak in mid July?

[Skiwi]

Hi there, it is that time of the year where my feet are itchy to move from being bound into ski boots/bindings and move more to my hiking shoes. So, planning some summer adventures is a pastime of mine at the moment.

My questions is "what are the typical conditions for summiting Kings Peak in mid July?". I know there is the risk of thunderstorms but in a typical year is the snow generally gone by then? I assume that the flying assassins (mosquitos) will be in full force at that time from previous Uintas experiences.

We may have a few days free at that time so I am thinking of doing a bit of a loop involving Red Castle if time and conditions allow. I will have to hunt out the trip reports on this I have read previously but any tips/hints would be appreciated.

 

[Dave]

Totally depends year over year, but mid-July would typically be pretty safe snow-wise. You can use a tool like https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ to zoom in on the Uintas and scroll back through July year over year to see how it looked. You may have to vary the exact date a bit to find a day that's cloud-free.

Even last year, which was a bumper snow year for the Uintas, once the melt started it went fast.

 

[WasatchWill]

You should definitely be fine mid-July. In fact, it's about early to mid-July when the peak season (great pun) for hiking Kings and so many of the other Uinta jewels kicks up. My first time was late June actually, before monsoon storms really started to kick up, and there were a just a few lingering patches of snow on the shortcut trail between Gunsight Pass and Anderson Pass. Other than that, there was only a few muddy sections of trail through the upper basin of Henry Fork in the area of Dollar Lake. That was in a year following a winter comparable to the one we just had. Here's a pic of Kings Peak from near Dollar Lake to show you what conditions can look like in late June. The ridge from Anderson Pass to the summit had no snow obstacles to deal with whatsoever.

 

[Jackson]

Just be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms. They're very common that time of year. This King's Peak trip report by @DrNed is a good example of what I mean. Just seems like every Uintas trip I go on that time of year, I get caught in a series of thunderstorms nearly every afternoon.

 

[Perry]

Unless there’s an active storm system in play just hike as early as you can.


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[Skiwi]

Thanks for the advice guys. @Dave - the Nasa map is pretty interesting. @WasatchWill - I had thought that late June would be too early (we have encountered a lot of snow in the second half of June previously in Naturalist/Amethyst areas). I will keep an eye on the map and maybe take a drive up to Bald Mountain Pass in June as we have a couple of 5 day breaks open. One in late June and the other in mid July to choose from. @Jackson - we have seen those thunderstorms come from nowhere in the Uintas so know to be very wary of them.