IT'S JULY, BUT AVALANCHE THREATS REMAIN IN SIERRA.

Byline: Brett Pauly

A recorded message at the Mount Whitney Ranger Station warns backpackers that avalanche conditions still exist above 10,000 feet.

It's mid-July, for wafflestompers' sake, can this be right?

You bet your boots it is, all because the Sierra Nevada mountain range received twice its normal snowpack this winter and cool weather has kept it from melting.

Access to the backcountry has hampered hikers' summer plans, especially for those with less technical ambitions. Ice axes and crampons are considered musts to tackle passes over 11,200 feet, including the Mount Whitney Trail. Many creek and river fords are dangerous; some are impassable.

You know things are bad when Canoga Park Boy Scout Troop 211 can't find an adequate four-day trip for its annual Sierra outing.

``People need to be aware of the fact that water is running high and they are likely to find snow at elevations they wouldn't normally at this time of year,'' said Al Nash, spokesman for Yosemite National Park, where Tioga Pass Road (Highway 120) opened July 1, the latest in recent history.

``It's certainly slower than usual (for backpacker traffic),'' Nash said. ``We may be running anywhere between four and six weeks behind schedule for the backcountry.''

Some High Sierra passes may not be snow-free until late July or August.

``Although it is summer, winter and spring conditions exist in the mountains,'' states the Mount Whitney Ranger Station's phone recording.

Who to call for further information on backcountry conditions:

Eastern Sierra

Mount Whitney Ranger Station, Lone Pine, [phone].

White Mountain Ranger Station, Bishop, [phone].

Mammoth Lakes Ranger Station, [phone].

Western Sierra

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, [phone].

Yosemite National Park, [phone].