Sonora Pass

[~mikey b]

why not? it ain't exactly Eastside and it ain't Tahoe, so it might as well have it's own thread

108 opened from the west today - folks have been into LL Rd from the Eastside for a few days

saw a few buddies with their sleds headed up thataway a couple hours ago

Throwin' Owen and I and Holy Mazurkiewicz and his baby boy and I are headed up for some father/son touring tomorrow. Hopefully we'll run into the slednecks and get our BWAAP BWAAP on for a couple of laps.

We always have space for Maggots in Twain Harte. 1.5 hours to top of the Pass.











edited thread title

[Hoss Worthington]

Thanks for starting this thread. I hope to use this information well in the coming weeks.

[~mikey b]

from last season's thread

some 108 (and 120) tips

Hula's in Escalon has good food.

AM/PM in Oakdale is cheapest gas you'll pass. AM/PM in Sonora is cheapest in town. Zak's in Sugar Pine is 25 cents cheaper than up the hill. If you haven't fueled up by the time you get to Zak's, you should.

Alicia's Sugar Shack in Sugar Pine has great coffee, breakfast burritos, muffins, scones, sandwiches. B&G on Sunday. Open at 0700. Tell her Mike from Dodge Ridge sent you.

Andy's Grill in Mi Wuk has EXCELLENT burgers - cheap. Great sandwiches, ribs, beer, ice cream, milk shakes. Mi Wuk store is open at 0700.

Cold Springs Market opens at 0600. They has groceries, doughnuts, breakfast burritos, gas, beer, bait, ammo - you name it. If you didn't buy gas at Zak's do it now, because the Dardanelle's will rape you.

Dardanelle's has a decent store and cafe and really expensive gas.

Pizza options on 108: Mia's in Cold Springs and Pie In The Sky in Sierra Village are both popular. Most folks like one or the other. I like Mia's, but I've never been to Pie In The Sky.

Twain Harte has a few places to eat. Pizza, burgers, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, etc. Sportsman Cafe has good homemade breakfast sausages. Open at 0700.

SFTC - did I miss anything?

Damn, I think you got it. I'll just add that the cheapest/almost easiest place for grocery stuff is the Safeway in Sonora. Further up the hill the Twain Harte Market is a wanna-be Whole Foods / regular store hybrid with not as much of a selection of healthy stuff but all of the same prices.

I think the Dodge Ridge ski shop is closed for the summer but in Pinecrest, right below Dodge, the general store will be open with basic stuff, next door Mike has decent camping/fishing stuff, next to that is the Serene Bean for coffee and the legendary Steam Donkey with cold beers and a good deck. This weekend they'll probably have the pay showers open and across the parking lot Brett will probably have his bike place up and running.

I can't think of anything else right now....

take yer pick of NWS forecasts

depending on where you click yer mouse you get:

something from the Sacramento forecast office

or

something from the Reno forecast office

I usually use Sac, Reno and Hanford when looking at my mtn wx forecasts - SF/Monterey for coastal forecasts

not much difference in the 2, really, but interesting to me

it's weather - it is what it is

[bcrider]

Thanks for the info TM!

I hope to get to the pass soon.

Do you have a link to the dates and info/map regarding snowmos?

Thanks!

[~mikey b]

Two different National Forests. Stanislaus on the west side of the pass and Humboldt- Toiyabe on the east. Last season's snowmo restrictions were on the H-T.

Here's the link to Bridgeport Winter Rec Area.

Check this link, too.

a good map

another good map

Sled's will be active on the west side of the pass. Most folks park at the meadows just west of the pass ride what they can see from there.

[Ottime]

Can't wait to hear how it looked up there. Stuck with the plan today, but i almost headed for 108 to poke around. Doubt I'll get up there this year, but still hope for a decent spring

[~mikey b]

quick report - updated with photos later tonight

coverage was good for a low snow year - much is not covered, but more than enough to have fun

dads and lads day for us - the boys did great

snow bridge at Blue Lake Canyon is gone but creek crossing looks to be no worries

Leavitt looked good from the road - Y is fat enough - the bowl looks good - you can ski to the road

No Name was crawling with folks

BWRA is signed as "closed for the season, but sleds were dropping over into the drainage where they ain't supposed to be - annoying



I'll be back Sunday. Avoiding the usual areas.

x-post

With word that 108 was opening from the west on the 4th, we made plans for a kamikaze mission up the pass on Saturday. Left at 3a.m., got to the top of the pass before 7, and started bootpacking towards Leavitt Peak. It was windy on the ridges. Got to the top at 11:30, snow was still firm, watched some skiers hit the Y coulior, and I decided to board it after an hour or so hoping things would soften up. They hadn't. It was dust on crust, with mostly crust. Girlfriend skied the bowl instead and said it too was firm. Below maybe 10,500 feet, things had turned to sweet corn and we enjoyed this til we got to the road and hitched back to the truck at 1:15. All in all worth getting up at 2:15 for.



The Y coulior on Leavitt Peak

[~mikey b]

excellent day out LL Rd today

met lurker Heidi and her beggar golden retriever Oso - surprised we have not run into each other before

followed some splitters up - looked like someone was figuring out his gear and how to climb - I'm just glad he didn't fall down on me

skiings were good

sun and wind were fighting for control of the snow up high - wind was winning when I dropped in from 10.5 at 1pm - it weren't corn

Krystal Kartwright and I will be skiing SP Monday.

[telek]

Day tripped it out to Sonora Pass on Sat... same as Claymond. There were 6 of us that left early to tag Leavitt Peak... the snow was firm when we came down, but I'm sure it got better later in the day. We saw at least 6 more folks on our way down, and two folks booting up the Y (as you might be able to see in the vid) when we came down. The best snow by far were the first few turns on the Y. Skier's left side...

So used to the slopes warming up early this season... I wasn't expecting to wait for the snow to soften. It was pretty damn cold actually... I was hiking in my down jacket for most of the day. I'm sure it'll be good out there for at least a few more weeks if the melt freeze cycle keeps going.

for MCA...

[skier666]

^^^^

That snow looked way better in the video than by your description

[telek]

666, the top of the Y was great snow. Then it turned to brain rattling hard pack... but at least it was smooth, w/little to no chunder.

I'm guessing that this week... and probably into the weekend, the conditions will be primo up there... especially when it softens up in the afternoon... there was some good evidence of melt freeze cycles.

That lower section was really fun, skiing down to the switchback... great corn, like skiing through a video game down there.

[romanandrey]

We saw ... two folks booting up the Y (as you might be able to see in the vid) when we came down.

That was us. My first time in Sonora Pass area -- great skiing, even if it never did soften up that day. Nice work on the tele boards!

[~mikey b]

Krystal Kartwright is back! Her first time out bc skiing today since her back injury last year. Just a quick shot up No Name for some skittery turns. Winds were howling. Snow was firm off the top, better lower down, downright mushy coming in to the road.

[~mikey b]

some sweet Leavitt pics in another thread

[claymond]

Is there a way to move a thread into this one? Specifically, the thread I started.(In my extremely tired state I simply slammed out a quick post before going to bed and didnt see this thread). That way all the info and stoke is in one convenient location. A one stop shop for all your Sonora Pass needs!