Approach to Colonial is snow free until the traverse into the basin (~5500'). The section between Pyramid Lake up to the stagnant ponds on the ridge (~4500') is dry as is typical for this time of year. The moraine lake is mostly frozen and just starting to thaw out. Bivy sites on the moraine/rock directly above the lake are melted out with a few large puddles for easy water access. The Colonial Glacier still has a lot of seasonal snow cover making for easy and straightforward travel to the Stump, Pyramid and over to the Colonial –Snowfield col. The gully up to the W ridge of Colonial has snow. The traverse over to the summit of Colonial is about 50/50 scree/snowfield. From the top of Colonial, the Neve Glacier appears to still have good coverage.
Photo below shows the Colonial Glacier basin:
![Colonial Glacier Colonial Glacier](/noca/blogs/images/DSC01748.jpg)
Photo below shows Paul Bunyan's Stump, Pinnacle Peak, and Pyramid:
![Peaks of the Snowfield/Colonial region Peaks of the Snowfield/Colonial region](/noca/blogs/images/DSC01779.jpg)
-Climbing Rangers