Eastern Sierra BC 2022-23

[CS]

Talked to a lady regarding Onion Valley. Sounds like road work is done and the road is open.

[Ted26]

Skied South Couloir Dunderberg this morning. Good corn at 10:30 am on south aspect. Snow was still pretty firm at 10 and then softened quickly in about half hour. Will be in the area for awhile if anyone’s looking to ski

[sfskier]

A little TR from last weekend (Apr 27-29), though snow conditions are very different now with this storm hitting:
Sat/Sun Apr 27-28: I always like to spend at least one night on the snow, so I though Kidney Lake would be a sweet spot with various ski options. It is indeed a sweet spot, but the slog in from Horeshoe Meadows Rd is... a slog. The road is closed in Lower Horseshoe Meadows about 2 miles short of the Gibbs Lake trailhead, which took me almost an hour with a full overnight pack plus skis+boots on my back. From there it was another 45 min to an hour to get to snow line at 8,200'-ish. So total about 3 miles and 1,000' vert from road closure to continuous snow. From there it is a long gradual low angle slog to get to Gibbs Lake and more sustained slopes up to Kidney Lake. About 6 miles total to get to Kidney Lake at 10,400'; it was later in the day and I was more tuckered than anticipated when arriving, so after setting up camp I only mustered a few hundred feet of vert above camp on the north facing slopes of Gibbs before dinner. That 2-4" from last Friday had blown in to a solid 8" of new on at least the shady north-facing slope where I made a handful of turns. I honestly think those were the first legit pow turns of the season for me, since pretty much all my days this year were with my kids. Sunday morning I didn't dilly dally in heading up Kidney Chute before it got too baked. I think I hit it perfectly by topping out on the plateau at 10:00. The ride down was sheer bliss of slushy hot pow at the top transitioning to perfect thin corn layer in the apron.
Mon Apr 29: About 20 years was last time I tried Mt Wood and ended up aborting a few hundred vert from the summit in a whiteout storm that appeared out of nowhere, and the ski down was refrozen washboard, so conditions seemed ripe to give it a go again. Despite this year not being super big or cold, there is a north-facing creek gully fill with snow that drops down to Grant Lake on the lower flank of Wood that is only about a 15 min walk up a brushy slope to continuous snow. Starting a bit before sunrise was perfect timing, though on the way up I worried that starting even at 5:15am was too late. I took it quite slow and measured and was passed by a couple other solo dudes who whipped up past me. The sun exposure was super oppressive and it was hot and once you get to Parker Bench there is zero shade. But my timing ended up being just dandy. It was a bit of temperature whiplash to crest the summit and be blasted by a frigid wind that required a down jacket and warm gloves. The top bowl, which is very spacious, had large panels of untracked mush to surf. The whole continuous 5,500' ride down was about as perfect conditions as Sierra spring skiing could get. Finished off with a dunk in Grant Lake to cool off and a picnic lunch of sandwich with ice tea at Silver Lake resort looking up at Carson Peak. Gold star day!
On Tuesday I skied the morning at Mammoth, and that was not so great. Despite being bluebird with no clouds, there was a cold wind blasting all morning and nothing softened before I had to leave at lunch to drive back to SF except the very meager east-facing options. It made me appreciate how much Alpine/PT have so much more diverse slope exposure options than Mammoth, which almost entirely faces north (esp once the Canyon Lodge side of the mountain closes).
Some pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149099...7720316696640/

Untitled by jswitzky, on Flickr
Untitled by jswitzky, on Flickr

Untitled by jswitzky, on Flickr
Untitled by jswitzky, on Flickr

[emcee]

is the road clear to twin lakes / mono village? not sure how these roads are maintained or where i would find the info, i have been so skunked before back here

[emcee]

mono village is open so i guess i answered my own question

[~mikey b]

STATE ROUTE 120 W UPDATE: The crew from the Caltrans District 9 Lee Vining maintenance station has broken through to the eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park. There is still a lot of work to be done and snow to clear before the highway can reopen.

[ryaaaan]

Skied Emerson + Kindergarten Chute last Friday (5/3).
Decent conditions in both but approaches are melting fast...

[abcdethan]

Skied Emerson + Kindergarten Chute last Friday (5/3).
Decent conditions in both but approaches are melting fast...

Thanks for sharing Ryan! I'm sure conditions changed after the storm over the weekend. I did Humphreys the weekend before and back then it was barely skinnable at the lower elevations. I'm trying to brainstorm for objectives this weekend.

[rod9301]

Which way did you approach for Emerson?

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[ryaaaan]

Which way did you approach for Emerson?

Buttermilks side. Road was pretty rough in spots but got thru clean in a truck

[justinthomas]

Considering heading out Fri & Sat somewhere in the northern half of the zone, but unsure if I should be chasing leftover hot pow or corn?

[abcdethan]

Any recent beta on Mount Gabb and the surrounding area?

[whatsupdoc]

Any recent beta on Mount Gabb and the surrounding area?

I was out west of the crest near that area last week (Seven Gables and Gemini area). Lake Italy should have plenty of snow if our zone was any indication. I could see the S side of Gabb in the distance. The S side appears to go and you could get to the summit this way. No idea if the N couloir goes, we couldn’t see it from where we were. I’d share a photo but having some issues posting photos on my phone right now.

Edited: trying to post the photo now

Gabb is the peak just to the left of of akbruin




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[MTT]

[LegoSkier]

Will be in the area next week for a bit of a road trip.
Arriving Sunday and staying in Mammoth a couple of nights. Probably doing something roadside Monday.
Tuesday through Thursday hopefully going to set a high camp up Rock Creek.
Friday hopefully roadside up Tioga pass (if they get the road open to the entrance).
Rolling solo so would welcome turns or drinks with people.

[Big Tim]

Well done boys. That was awesome to watch

[emcee]

obnoxiously high overnight lows into the weekend. I can't imagine even hot pow survives this, but I don't know if this is enough to cycle into corn either. guess we'll find frankensnow

[MagnificentUnicorn]

If it doesn’t freeze at least the surface snow at night there won’t be corn


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[bodywhomper]

Looks like there was a recent double fatality on Whitney (maybe?) on the mountaineers route. The LA Times story indicated that there were not a lot of details available yet. RIP.

[CS]

Looks like there was a recent double fatality on Whitney (maybe?) on the mountaineers route. The LA Times story indicated that there were not a lot of details available yet. RIP.

From what I have been able to gather they fell somewhere on the final 400 then off the cliffs on the N face. Sad times.

Edit: Scratch that, sounds like they were doing the traverse to avoid the final 400 and fell off that.

[~mikey b]

On State Route 120 W, maintenance crews from Lee Vining reached the gate of Yosemite National Park. They're continuing to clear snow from the road and shoulders. Before the highway can reopen, crews will need to make any necessary repairs to the pavement and guardrail, and clear all the rocks from the road that came down the hillsides this winter.

To find out what's happening inside the park, click this link: https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view...I_4Cima3sPfHoy

[rod9301]

From what I have been able to gather they fell somewhere on the final 400 then off the cliffs on the N face. Sad times.

Edit: Scratch that, sounds like they were doing the traverse to avoid the final 400 and fell off that.

Were they hikers or climbing technical stuff, ie roped?

Otherwise hard to understand why both fell.

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[claymond]

According to a news article it was a couple. While I'm interested in hearing more technical details, as someone whose main mountain partner is their fiancee this hits the heart

[climberevan]

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/n...itney-3048537/


Better one: https://www.latimes.com/california/s...acherous-route

[abcdethan]

I was out west of the crest near that area last week (Seven Gables and Gemini area). Lake Italy should have plenty of snow if our zone was any indication. I could see the S side of Gabb in the distance. The S side appears to go and you could get to the summit this way. No idea if the N couloir goes, we couldn’t see it from where we were. I’d share a photo but having some issues posting photos on my phone right now.

Edited: trying to post the photo now

Gabb is the peak just to the left of of akbruin


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Thanks @whatsupdoc! We got back from a 3 day trip partly inspired by you and Frank’s tour. I usually prefer light day missions but opted to haul a heavy pack instead. We were able to tick off N. Coulior of Gabb and ski a couple other lines.


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