Sonora Pass 2011

[Ottime]

Vibes man. Hope the strife goes away.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Well, there is a good amount of snow left up at Sonora Pass - P.S. I am 6'3" (my camera was on B&W for some reason):



Long day skiing quite a bit of zones. Y coolie (both entrances) was skiing great.



Separate TR to follow once we sort all the shots.

[cat in january]

That looks very tasty

[gimpy]

for those of u wondering about the lines above the hairpin and worryin that u r missing out on them - don't. they dont go w/o billygoating and the snow looks tainted.

on the other hand, blue canyon was the best i've ever had thanx to things taking awhile to soften on sat.

[Ottime]

Paris Hilton has gained a ton of weight. She is looking mighty fat.

gimpy - thanks for that beta. Now I can go back to fathering.

[CaliKid]

The smaller coolie lookers right of Y (not sure of the name) was skiing great today. The upper 1/3 of blue canyon exit was superb but got sticky towards the bottom.






I believe this is the face above the hairpin you are referring to.

[SchralphMacchio]

aaaargh gimpy, UCL, dyno and MapleLeaf ... friggin jealous. Woke up in a shitty motel in Napa today a little hungover and the only turns I made this whole weekend were some pretty sweet sidewalk jump turns in front of Pizzeria Delfina while waiting for a table. Hey when you're jonesing for turns and all you have is no snow and freestyle walking, you gotta scrap for it ...


telemike, we talking post surgical flareup? Hope things are on the mend there. +vibes.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

on the other hand, blue canyon was the best i've ever had thanx to things taking awhile to soften on sat.

100% agreed. Was just so smooth and good on the way out.

[snowranger]

Jealous too. Was sitting in the fog all weekend. Hope it stays smooth for a while longer. Will be carless next weekend, but can pitch in for gas money.

[~mikey b]

schralph - not my wife, my mom - she's very ill in hospital - touch and go

I still managed to take the old guys out for a tour and turns Sun. Owen's adopted grampa, a good ski buddy who lives next door, got out for his first backcountry ski day ever at 64. He did great and had a fine time. All he could say was "That's a lot of work!" It was fun to finally get him out there.

I probably won't be up there until the temps drop a bit.

[AKbruin]

Shit. Looks like my snow-quality based decision to sit out this weekend blew up. Oh well. The summery weather in Tahoe was still pretty damn enjoyable.

[skier666]

Holy hell 'The Y' looks snowless and boney....

Yes, that's the face I want, looks like a little line there on the right but that will probably melt off soon...I think it may be skiable lookers right of the photo a bit longer....where's it wider. Its just hard to get the strength to go over there after sessioning up the Y earlier in the day. Still trying to gather family logistics on getting a day out there, but I should probably just give that up

[CaliKid]

I might have a photo showing the wider section lookers right on my brothers camera that I can look for later.

On another note, mike thanks for the tip on Alicias sugar shack, the breakfast burritos were off the hook and she was open before 7am.

[~mikey b]

You got it Kid! We love's Alicia's sugar 'round here...

call me when it freezes

[CaliKid]

Here is another pic of that face above the turn farther lookers right. Having trouble uploading the pic.

[Ottime]

...but I should probably just give that up

I think I have. The Mrs. said I could ski for Father's Day if i really really really wanted to. Seeing we will be at KW for the 4th, I figure I'll save up and wait for next winter. I think...



Middle of the pic and far right looks good to go from the top. I've wanted one of those lines since the first time I drove over the pass.

[~mikey b]

Saturday.....

[bcrider]

telemike,

What's the rules with snowmos on the pass this time of year?

[SchralphMacchio]

BCR, telemike's on a dialup so I figured I'd requote this sftc post. I don't know if it's changed since 3 weeks ago, but in case you missed this post:

Only the west side (Sonora side) of the pass is technically open to OVER SNOW VEHICLES (ie: sleds/snowmobiles) at any time from what I've heard. Basically the dividing line in that area is the crest of the Sierra, and it runs south from the parking lot to the top of No Name peak and on to Leavitt Peak. Hence you can't legally sled up to, or around, Leavitt Lake. Or do a multi-night, sled-supported, midwinter ski crossing of the pass to Bridgeport and back, which would be a lot of fun.

The east side (Bridgeport side) is also the training grounds for the Marines and I think they use a lot of the eastside for camping, helidrops and live fire training in the winter so they probably try to discourage traffic in the area without actually closing it off.

Here's a link to a cool map I found of training area on the eastside of the pass. It outlines all of the heli LZ's and the live fire ranges. It's interesting to see the target areas right around Leavitt Lake. It's a big download, but it's a great topo map of the area and interesting to check out:

MWTC RTA MAP

There's more maps and info in the "Range Control" section of this website:
Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center

[~mikey b]

bcrider - schralph has the beta

you can ride on the west side of the pass, on the Stanislaus NF side, outside of the Wilderness boundary

the east side of the pass is closed by the Humboldt-Toyabe NF

I can show you around the snomo accessed bits if you like - mostly, people just spin around in circles or tow up a few smaller shots - good ski terrain gets hammered by snowmachines

pm me if you want to talk tonight

[~mikey b]

almost fergot...

I'll be up there tomorrow w/ a local partner - leaving Twain Harte around 0600 - Alicia's at 0620-30 - we can run a car shuttle - you might see us hitchhiking

what's the consensus on Leavitt? Do you park at Blue Lake and ski up and down the same route? or do you park at the pass and shuttle/hitch-hike?

[SchralphMacchio]

Do you park at Blue Lake and ski up and down the same route? or do you park at the pass and shuttle/hitch-hike?

Most going for Leavitt start at the top, Going for Deadman / Dead Dog you can do either since it's less of a straight shot from the top of the pass. Hitching to the top works best when you stand in the road, stop cars, and ask reallllly nicely. Otherwise they just wave and smile at you as they go by!

Have fun tomorrow, hoping everyone gets a little freeze!

[snowranger]

^^^ Last time it helped to have a member of the fairer sex in the group.

Yes, definitely hike from the top along the PCT. After hitting leavitt you can either descend to blue lakes or backtrack to no name. My friend and I will be there as early as we can leaving from SF. Mike, if we see you we might be able to do a shuttle. We're in a white cherokee.

[~mikey b]

Thanks y'all. That's what I figured, but I thought I oughta check in and see what other folks are doing.

Kel - I'll be in a buddy's green Subaru. Plan is to go from the pass to Leavitt Peak and out Blue Lake Cyn. We've also thought about wandering up LL Rd towards Ski Peak and such.

[~mikey b]

a great day in the mtns with a good friend today

saw a bunch of cars at Blue Lake and the pass - probably a few Maggots

rolled along to Leavitt Lake Road - walked a bit on the dirt and mud and snow - crossed the easy snowbridge over the crick - skied delicious snow - good freeze, good corn - saw no one else

drank beer, ate pig

I saw a few tracks in places I'd never seen before today - good on you folks for hitting something other than the obvious

Sunday and Monday should be good

goodnight