This week’s warm temps allowed the plow crews to clear most of the snow from the popular roads. The road to South Lake is open, and Sabrina should be as well. Rock Creek is open to the Hilton Creek Trail parking, and Virginia Lakes is clear as well.
Rock Creek - 4/23/09
Virginia Lakes area:
The road is apparently plowed to the gate, so hopefully we will be skiing up there this coming weekend. Coverage looks excellent….
White Mountain and the east ridge of Conness:
Conness and North Peak:
Dana and Ellery Bowl:
The differences in coverage throughout the range are becoming more and more apparent with these warmer days. The forecast is calling for above normal temps through next week, which is only going to increase these differences. The lower elevations are melting quickly, and many roads are beginning to open up. More roads should hopefully be plowed by next weekend. But coverage is still excellent at the higher elevations. With easy access to the higher trailheads, this is shaping up to be the best spring we’ve had in years!
Bloody Mountain - 4/16/09
The Onion Valley Road is clear. While there is currently snow from the parking lot, it is going quickly. Up high, things are holding up well.
University Peak - 4/18/09:
Mt Gould - 4/18/09:
The McGee Creek Road has been clear for a while. The trail into the canyon is melted out, but the coverage on Esha, as well as Baldwin Cirque and White Fang areas is excellent.
McGee Creek Canyon:
The Buttermilk Road is clear to the end, with a bit of walking on dirt to get to the consistent snow.
Mt Humphreys:
Buttermilk Area:
Darwin and Lamarck:
Looking towards the Sabrina Basin from Mt Emerson - 4/11/09:
With new snow and lots of sunshine, be prepared for glopping snow until everything has a chance to transition to corn. South and east aspects are turning quickly, as well as everything at the lower elevations. But the north faces will take a lot longer.
This time of year is tough because you’ll go from warm snow to cold powder (and back again) in just a few steps. The tiniest change in aspect can mean a huge difference in snow temperature. And, no matter how hard you try, your skins are going to ice up eventually.
So don’t forget your skin wax. Or better yet, take the time to re-treat your skins some evening.
My skins had been giving me a lot of trouble last week. So I tried out the the Nikwax Skin Proof, and it works great!
It’s easier to apply and seems much more effective than the BD spray on stuff.
Yesterday was spent going through a huge range of temperatures and snow conditions. And my skins did surprisingly well.
While you’ll lose a little bit of grip, it’s better than not being able to skin at all!
It has been a very strange year for the Sierra. Throughout the year, most of our storms have been quite warm. In the Mammoth area, this has left very little snow at the lower elevations around 395. Many of the approach roads are melting out. South of Rock Creek, this has left almost no snow below 8000 feet, and minimal coverage until you reach 9000 feet.
While there is a drastic difference between the lower and upper elevations, the southern portions of the range haven’t received nearly the amount of snow as the Mammoth-Bridgeport area. While Mammoth Mountain is reporting over 400 inches so far for the season, conditions in the Whitney area are grim.
The Whitney Portal road is clear for nearly three miles past the ‘Road Closed’ sign. One very large boulder has damaged the road quite a bit, so it may be a while before that road opens completely. I followed the main Whitney trail last week, and coverage through that section is decent, but spotty in places. The North Fork drainage looks similar, with a lot of bushwhacking through the lower sections.
Onion Valley is a similar scenario, and reports from Big Pine Creek say that there is barely enough snow to be able to ski through the lower sections. And it’s going fast.
Don’t forget, it’s only March!
camp below Mt Muir:
As one of California’s highest peaks, Mt Williamson sits high on the ‘tick list’ of many hikers, climbers, and skiers. Both the east and north faces have incredible skiing and climbing options, with a huge vertical gain. But, as many quickly learn, the majority of this mountain is closed to the public except during the heart of winter.
These closures have been in effect for many years, in an attempt to protect the bighorn sheep. The validity of the closures has recently come into question, and many people are petitioning to have this rescinded. I’m not a biologist, and can’t really form an opinion on the matter until I see all the facts. But this reversal would greatly affect skiers. So if anyone is interested in learning more, see this thread:
a herd of bighorn sheep across the valley in the White Mountains:
For one reason or another, the Mammoth police department has decided to start ticketing vehicles parked at the standard lot on Sherwin Creek Road. This has been a long established parking area for dog walkers, cross country skiers, snowmobilers, and backcountry skiers, so the tickets have come as a bit of shock to those who have been using this area for years.
There is a brief article on Sierra Wave:
http://www.ksrw.sierrawave.net/site/content/view/1838/48/
Stay tuned for updates and info. Reports from today (3/6) are that numerous vehicles were there all day and did not receive a ticket. But park there at your own risk until the issue is resolved.
Got some photos from along 395 yesterday. The snowline is very high still, and it looks like it will remain that way for a while.
The wind seems to have hit things pretty hard, but overall coverage looks good above 9000 feet or so. These are a few of the more popular peaks, but I took a lot more shots. So if anyone is interested in another peak, let me know…..
Buttermilks at sunrise:
Kidd Mountain:
Independence:
Tyndal and Shepherds Pass:
North side of Williamson:
East side of Williamson:
Langley:
Whitney:
Birch:
Cardinal Mountain and the Red Lake trailhead:
Birch and The Thumb:
Mt Tom:
Courtesy of Mammoth Mountaineering Supply, there will be a Book Release Party on February 17th @ 6pm.
The authors will be on hand to answer questions, take comments and sign copies while Sweetwater String Band strums away over free Mammoth Brewing Beer. Come hang out, socialize with friends and buy some books.
Hope to see you there!
As you can see, this is very fresh…
We’re still working out a lot of the details, and there will be a fair bit of development in the coming weeks, including some ‘look & feel’ changes.
We’re starting to get some content built in here though, and we’d love it if you would help us build this site…
Enjoy!