Four Days on an Eastern Sierra Ski Safari:

This past week I had the unique privilege of guiding one of SWS's most exciting trips.  For four days on the Eastern Sierra we hiked, skinned, climbed, and skied some of the best mountains that California has to offer.  With no set objective in mind, other than finding great skiing, we headed down to Mammoth Lakes region to see what the Eastern Sierra's backcountry had to offer.  What we found were big mountains, a little adventure, and miles of soft corn snow.

Day 1: We started early with a short walk in through sage and cactus to a short warm up run on Little Morrison.The early start graced us with cool weather and the chance to hike up through a herd of mule deer and even spotting a black bear on the snow fields below. The rest of the day was spent learning and reviewing the skills necessary to ski the bigger mountains around us. Using ski crampons, whippets, and skins are foreign to most resort skiers but are essential tools of the trade for ski mountaineers.As we traveled up we got the opportunity to put all of these tools to work as we made it to the summit and then blasted down its East flank.

Day 2: After receiving a tip from famous ski mountaineer "Rando Steve" our second day's objective was the Ripper chute of the Dana Plateau.  This steep, trackless chute lies in obscurity from even many of the eastside locals.  Nevertheless, after a couple hours of approach and a short section of easy roped climbing we were ready to drop in.  I went in first between the steep side wall and a small cornice, kicking off sluff and insuring the slope was safe.  A few hop turns later I was in the middle of the main shoot with the rest of the group in tail.  Skiing around the huge "shark's tooth" pillar we opened up onto a large apron that runs across the base of the plateau and underneath the famed Third Pillar of Dana.  Without a doubt Rando Steve's info was correct and a month after the lifts were closed this chute turned into one of the highlights of my 2010 season.

Day 3: We turned our sights almost two hours south to the obscure Onion Valley of Independence, CA.  At one point developers had tried to turn this area into a ski resort and with a trail head at 9,200ft and almost no approach to great backcountry skiing it's easy to see why.  Tired from the day before, it still only took us a couple hours to reach the shoulder of University Peak where we stripped off our skins and headed down.  At 11,300ft the snow stayed firm and the skiing resembled the perfect corduroy that you find at ski resorts around the country.  The skiing was so good I was ready to sprint back up for another run, but decided not to in order to save my energy for the last day's adventure.

Day 4:  The Bloody Couloir, is perhaps the most prominent ski feature south of Mammoth Lakes. The couloir faces almost due north meaning it holds quality snow late into the year.  Its Y- shaped gulley and twin rock islands beckon backcountry skier's from all over the country with its own unique siren song.  The Bloody's clean esthetic line makes it one of the most classic ski lines in all of the State of California.  So after three days of skiing it was our ultimate goal. 

Like any attempt at ski mountaineering, timing the corn cycle is crucial which meant getting there early was imperative.  We started at sunrise from the Sherwin Creek trail head only to find the 4x4 road blocked by one last lingering hold out of snow.  With no way to get around it we strapped our skis on our back and started hiking.  Up through Laurel Lakes we traveled until we reached the snow line when a storm rolled in turning spring back to winter.  First rain and then snow came down upon our group as we crossed over the high bench and turned the corner at the base of the Bloody.  We started our ascent of the couloir from below but high winds and snow made for laborious climbing even with crampons.  With the snow turning to ice and the sounds of the rock fall from above it just wasn't our day.  We stripped down to our ski gear and headed for home.

"I just love to get out and explore the world.  It just so happens that my favorite way to do that is on a pair of skis" - B. Ladd

Even without summiting Bloody we had climbed in four different parts of the Sierras, and skied places that are almost never explored.  We saw an array of wildlife and were witness to the amazing contrasts of the high alpine and desert environments.  Most of all we had pushed ourselves on skis more than ever before.  It just goes to show that the best skiing in world isn't at a resort.