Eastside Conditions Thread

[somethingclever...]

No sir

Curious if somethingclever was talking about Twin Lakes out of Mammoth.

[somethingclever...]

Seems like folks are getting decent corn where you'd expect it. The question is what the weather is going to do during that period. I'm seeing possible snow Thursday night and Saturday/Sunday. I don't know if that will also translate into corn-destroying wind and clouds.

Any guesses as to what conditions will be like in north-facing couloirs between 11,000' and 13,000'? [Edit: Rock-hard windboard or softish packed powder?] I was planning on doing a three-day trip near Aspendell but I'm not sure if I should bail and chase corn (camp out on Lake Italy? Ritter?). I've been obsessively checking the weather for the last four days, which is a little stressful.

Go with your gut ....cold snow is there.....jah bless

[TEXASS]

Onion Valley

Southern Sierra

9K and above = MONEY

[pajamas]

glad you got out RayRay.

[406]

To what elevation could you drive up the Onion valley road?

[AKbruin]

Windy as hell in mammoth right now. Spent a few days around Lake Ediza and skied Ritter from the summit on Saturday. Great coverage. Only took the skis off for about 50' in the Shadow Lake drainage. Unfortunately, a deer suicided into my radiator early Friday morning at Topaz Lake. So I'm getting that fixed while living large in the Motel 6. Will post photos later.

Edit: Sick shot, BG!

[BGnight]

The eastside was absolutely going off last week. Wish I had gotten out earlier. Seems like the best snow was on high, steep, north faces. I found good transitional spring snow everywhere else with some crust/windboard on the aprons. Let's hope this little refresher leaves the same settled pow and not windboard.


(haha yeah, having trouble getting the right size to post)

Huge fail on the camera angle but it gives the idea of the snow quality:

[BGnight]

That sucks about the deer! I'm always so paranoid about that which is why I drive like a grandma when it's dusk/dawn on 395

[Schwalbster]

Hey Brooks,
thanks Dude! Really nice of you to come back from the future and let us know how conditions are gonna be on APRIL 18th

Snow looks great by the way!

Henning

[BGnight]

Lol oops.

Mark it on your calender!

[Schwalbster]

I'll meet you at the trailhead.
When did you leave? I mean in the future

[AKbruin]

As alluded to above, I spent a couple nights in the Ansel Adams wilderness with the goal of skiing Ritter. I don't normally do overnighters solo, but it was kind of a 40th birthday gift to myself. I ran into a skier and splitboarder at the summit though.















It was good.

[BGnight]

Nice work! I saw some pics of that other party on instagram. Strong day trip by them.
That second pic is unreal!!!

[somethingclever...]

Good work fellas!

[davieboot]

Nice photos. Nice trip. Nice work.

[TEXASS]

@ 406. You can drive all the way up onion valley to the top lot. And skin from the lot

Nice birthday outing AK
Great pics

[hoarhey]

As alluded to above, I spent a couple nights in the Ansel Adams wilderness with the goal of skiing Ritter. I don't normally do overnighters solo, but it was kind of a 40th birthday gift to myself. I ran into a skier and splitboarder at the summit though.



It was good.

aahh, the skate across the lake
Nice photos and congrats and happy bday.

how was the maiden voyage with the blizzards (maybe post in tech talk, not to hijack)

anyway, nice job

[AKbruin]

Nice work! I saw some pics of that other party on instagram. Strong day trip by them.
That second pic is unreal!!!

Yeah, they moved fast. It was nice to be able to explore the lines under the Minarets and have the luxury to lollygag on the ascent (and wait for the sun to come out) but carrying a 40-pound pack for 12 miles ain't easy. In terms of route-finding, it's extremely hard to get lost in the macro sense. But it's very hard to take a very direct, efficient route, too. The 7-8 miles between Agnew Meadows and Ediza Lake has a lot of trees, creeks, and minor undulations (skin up 50' and then down 25') and often lacks decent sight lines. So it's a harder skin than it might appear on the map.

aahh, the skate across the lake
Nice photos and congrats and happy bday.

how was the maiden voyage with the blizzards (maybe post in tech talk, not to hijack)

anyway, nice job

I posted an update in Tech Talk. In sum: They did their job!

[meter-man]

Nice work y'all. Getting me fired up for the East Side!! And damn AKB, nice trip. That's a high quality objective. HBD!

Here's some beta from the Royce Lakes area sent to me by a friend. I didn't go, but damn did it get me slavering, and I figured it was worth sharing. Sounds like access was good.

[meter-man]

Oops one more.

[Jack Burton]

Sweet Work guys, looking forward to getting back out there

[LightRanger]

Man, Pine Creek Drainage has to be my #1 desired High Sierra overnight destination. Feather the ideal ski peak, and the North Buttress on Merriam one of the most aesthetically pleasing prows in the range. Out of my trad ability for the foreseeable future, but nice to look at.

[bodywhomper]

Nice. Feather in winter!

[Ottime]

Posting here, looking for a partner for a day or two between April 4-7. I'll be in Palm Springs, so looking in the southern range. Independence zone likely. Let me know if anyone is going to be around. Or I'll just work on my tan.

[hutash]

Posting here, looking for a partner for a day or two between April 4-7. I'll be in Palm Springs, so looking in the southern range. Independence zone likely. Let me know if anyone is going to be around. Or I'll just work on my tan.

I was looking at San J from Joshua Tree last week, and it looked terrible. San G was a little better, but not that great either. Again, these observations where from 50+ miles away, but where not promising.