7 of us sought out for a dayhike in pretty deep snow. No crampons or ice axes.....we decided to go as far as we safely could. It wasn't the lack of gear that failed us.....the snow just slowed us down...we almost ran out of water at the Needles and turned around before getting dehydrated. Here's a 5 minute youtube slideshow of our attempt:
Iron Mountain, Elfin Forest, the best training local is Mt Woodson. Hit San Jacinto via Marion Trail for altitude training. Here's a blog I was sort of keeping.....has some good links for training hikes..etc.
