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Thread: Eastside Conditions Thread
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07-03-2019, 03:20 PM #1851
Not all approaches around there are filled with death suncups like Saddlebag. For example, if you were to do this:
... you could just leave the skins in the car since it's mostly either dirt hiking or booting on frozen snow. The steeper chutes are mostly smooth-ish, it's just the lower-angle stuff that's particularly bad, and there's not too much of that in that particular linkup. Having said that, we basically did that same linkup on Sat, and definitely wasn't prime corn even in the non-suncupped chutes. YMMV.
Speaking of Ellery here are a couple pics from Sat. Eventually maybe I'll get around to writing up a real TR with more...
We should start a GoFundMe to have someone groom a track around Saddlebag...
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07-03-2019, 03:44 PM #1852
Oh yeah, Gopher/Miles! Crazy that that was you in those Powerhouse pics from all those years ago. Good to see you still getting after it, and dayum, you certainly have been getting after it at Tioga this June! Nice work. We ended up doing your "Flume" line next to Solstice on Sat (spicy melted out choke now) then to the alternate Chute Out entrance (my favorite line on Ellery, it will now have moguls in it after all those TR's ). Cool lines but the snow was weird, not optimal corn. Top 1-2" would slide off exposing frozen layer beneath. Supposedly on Fri eve things got socked in and there was a short mini-storm that even had some sideways-blowing snow up there. I blame that for the weird conditions Sat, that has to be the only explanation for why I felt like I couldn't make a heelside turn to save my life and made possibly the first full descent of the alternate Chute Out line entirely toeside! The cool thing about the toeside falling leaf technique is not only can it save your ass in sketchy conditions, if you do it right the tracks almost look like real turns. I hear ya on the sketchy NP climbing. We climbed Y on Sun and most of the way up the "bootpack" was like 2" deep and we were barely pasted to it. I tried to get up as fast as possible because I wasn't sure how long my calf muscles could hold out! On the plus side, the run down it was actually really smooth and had good corn. Probably not worth the suncup hell price of admission though.
PSA: Saddlebag road is open to the end. As mentioned, the suncups are from hell. However I highly recommend that people should get up there and check it out, if only to experience how bad said suncups are, just to have a frame of reference when complaining about shitty approaches.
Saddlebag lake itself is mostly but not completely melted out. Saddlebag Lake Resort is still partly snowed it, no idea when/if it will open. Supposedly TPR bought the place as it was up for sale recently. I heard they plan to continue the boat taxi at least, but no idea when that will happen. TPR still closed too, sounds like they were closed all last summer due to damage and are still working on repairs now, not sure when/if they'll open this summer.
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07-03-2019, 07:51 PM #1853Registered User
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thanks for the updates, guys.
wonder if conness chutes will hold after the cups melt away
would it be totally unethical to somehow snowcat a groomer path over the Conness approach... just once???
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07-04-2019, 03:12 PM #1854Banned
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07-04-2019, 04:24 PM #1855Registered User
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Holy shit, great pics! Been drooling over this thread for years now, gotta make it out in a big season at some point.
What phone are you using? Impressive image quality
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07-04-2019, 10:15 PM #1856
Amazing photos, BG!
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07-05-2019, 11:20 AM #1857
Yeah I guess you had an OK season BG... You are lacking some pics with man-eating suncups though, you should fix that!
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07-05-2019, 11:39 AM #1858
Wow, get bored more often! That was a great "photo dump".
I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...iscariot
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01-06-2020, 12:06 AM #1859
^^^ Wow, BGnight, that's an awesome photo set!!!
I missed this when you posted it originally last summer cause I pretty much stop following TGR after I hang them up for the season, but dude, nice job!
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01-06-2020, 12:33 AM #1860
Here's some pics from the East side this weekend. If Tahoe peeps are wondering if the same rain event hit the East side as Tahoe last week, the answer is no. However, the wind event down there on Saturday likely left everything exposed pretty much wind hammered (20+mph winds at lake level sat, guessing 50-90mph up high). We found some good 2-10 inch powder in protected areas between 9k and 7k, but anything exposed was windboard/breakable. Also, in general coverage in the High Sierra is still looking pretty sparse. We skinned/skied to our car on sat on Crater Crest. looked like V-bowl went at Tioga as well, but definitely low tide.
Obligatory Bridgeport gas station shot of the Sawtooths:
Twin lakes/Crater Crest, Sawtooths:
Even though the wind was hammering us at the trailhead when we started, we initially saw no plumes wind loading in the gully it self. This all changed by the time we got up there after the wind changed from Westerly to more Northerly, and the plumes were huge:
The central gully where we pulled the ripcord ~9.5k was totally scraped windboard:
Getting out of the gully and into more protected spots, we found pretty good soft snow from ~9.3k down to 7k.
S side favorites need more snow:
for the climbers, The ice is in and good at LV:
Dana plateau coverage/vbowl looked ok:
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01-06-2020, 08:10 AM #1861Rod9301
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You have a great start to the season
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01-10-2020, 10:35 AM #1862
haven't been on here in a while, and bgnight, that 4th of July Photo Dump...
cue Uma Thurman in the restaurant bathroom in Pulp Fiction... Goddamn!Aggressive in my own mind
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01-23-2020, 02:03 PM #1863
I was on a flight a couple days ago and ended up flying over the Sierra just south of Big Pine. Clouds parted enough for some decent views. Cardinal mtn dead center:
Closeup of south face of Split:
Palisade crest dead center, Birch right middle (this area is top left in first pic):
Also saw this strange phenomenon, apparently called a glory. Not to be confused with a glory hole.
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01-23-2020, 02:19 PM #1864
I don't know man, kinda looks like a hole.
thanks for the pics!Besides the comet that killed the dinosaurs nothing has destroyed a species faster than entitled white people.-ajp
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01-25-2020, 04:34 AM #1865
After a quick trip to SD to see the folks last week, I took a couple pics on the drive back to Mammoth.
Pulled over just North of Bishop and slept for a few hours. Woke up just before sunrise. I liked how the moon was still out.
Left to right , Basin Mtn, Mount Tom, and a bit of the Wheeler Ridge..
L-R Mount Tom and the Wheeler Crest. Not a whole bunch of snow yet.
I was looking for the Mayfield Couloir, but with so little snow I couldn’t find it. I don’t think this is it.
The late night into early morning hours are my favorite time to drive across the high desert and Owens Valley. Very peaceful. Cheers!
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02-03-2020, 02:20 PM #1866
It's been a while since I befouled this thread with iPhone photos, so here goes. But first, a quick Q&A.
Q: How are current conditions in the Eastside?
A: Very low tide. It feels like early December in an average year.
Q: But are there still fun things to ski?
A: Of course.
Q: Is it worth the drive?
A: From Tahoe, sure, what the hell. From the Bay Area? Not really. You can still have a good time but that long drive may be better aimed at Shasta or Lassen or Bend.
Two weeks ago: somethingclever, a friend, and I tried for Koip, thinking its low-angle moderate terrain would be prudent during a period of avy danger. But after a long approach, we were shut down by big cliffs and ice-waterfalls at about 10,200'. Note to would-be Koip tourers: Wait for above-average coverage.
One weekend ago: I took the 8th grader to June and had a really fun day in the Negatives in perfectly cromulent conditions. [Side note: I'm enjoying my Ikon pass much more than I expected this year.]
Saturday: I met a friend in Mammoth Lakes, where we proceeded to change our minds on what we would ski the next day a dozen times. Worried that the earlier north winds had made the north-facing stuff unpleasant, we opted for Pinner. (Mendenhall doesn't go without raps.) We were stoked to see that it wasn't full of chunder from the hot temps the day before. I suspect the lack of chunder, however, also correlated to a general lack of snow. On the other hand, there were 3-4 cruxy chokes, two of which required careful down-climbing.
Maybe five minutes after topping out, there was a small earthquake. It was a 4.4 and the epicenter was only a few miles from us. I've always wondered what it'd be like to experience an earthquake on a mountain and now I know: It's confusing and terrifying. My partner and I were standing on snow at the time, but we quickly reasoned that it couldn't have been a super whoompf. Right after the quake, we heard rockfall in the couloir we had spent the previous three hours booting. When we descended, we saw evidence of the rock fall (a few basketball and beach-ball sized rocks) and a small slide that ran through the middle part of the couloir. We maybe-probably would have been okay had we still been in the gut of the couloir, but I'm so glad that we weren't. Early starts are good.
Anyhow, despite the nearly pants-peeing quake and downclimbs, it was still a fun ski. The snow wasn't the corn we expected, but some mixture of windblown variable. The temperature was 60 degrees at the trailhead.
Quick beta for Pinner: When there's adequate snow, skinning around Mendenhall and scrambling up the talus field of Laurel is much easier and perhaps safer. But, if coverage is in question, booting it will allow you to see how passable the chokes are. I'm glad we weren't surprised by the chokes on our descent.
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02-03-2020, 02:38 PM #1867
^^^Thanks for posting, funny I saw your photos on instagram and thought that looks like pinner, but they are down climbing so is it Mendenhall...scary spot to be in an earthquake.
Congrat's on getting the kid out, that is awesome and I hope mine will be up for backcountry skiing someday.
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02-04-2020, 10:07 AM #1868
So, how early is an earthquake start?
Good to see you are getting after it, as usual AK, and sweet kid pics, you are raising some real rippers.
I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...iscariot
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02-05-2020, 03:51 AM #1869
Good stuff Frank!
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02-10-2020, 01:18 PM #1870Registered User
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Going Up Presidents day weekend with the OG crew . I know....conditions will suck . I kinda dropped out of this sport. Will be interesting to watch my old ass try to skin
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02-10-2020, 07:59 PM #1871Registered Jerry
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- Mar 2017
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- squaw
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Anyone skied around bridgeport recently? Thinking of heading for hulk or kettle peak early next week and lookin for conditions/coverage beta.
I heard it's mostly bottomless powderskiing and skins on at the car but just looking to confirm. Thanks!
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02-10-2020, 08:49 PM #1872
Robo, take a look a few pages back - We skied Crater Crest out of twin lakes about a month ago. Take a look at the pics & report. If I was going there I'd probably hope the big open Easterly fields near Matternorn in horse creek(?) canyon has corned (may not have). I'd be surprised if the northerly stuff isn't windboard. Unfortunately, the southerly gems were fairly burned out at the base(Victoria,etc.) Dunderberg might be good if you can get up there somehow. look at https://esavalanche.org/ as well
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02-10-2020, 08:58 PM #1873
Thx for another cool TR AKBruin! Hope i'll never be in an earthquake on a mountain
Have a great time with the OG S.B crew Tex! Some of my fondest memories was with the old Splitboard.com crew (Even though I ski, ya took me in like a stray cat . It's weird not seeing BCrider's video's anymore... ah, the good old days
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02-12-2020, 05:47 PM #1874
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02-12-2020, 11:56 PM #1875
Thx for the Invite Jim! I'd love to catch up with you guys again, but I'm stuck with kid's sports Sat/Sunday. Might hit Tahoe Monday, but prolly put in some "wife-time" that day instead. If things change i'll ping ya. Else lets sync for the east side/shasta this spring (if we have enough snow !). BTW, we might try to do the whitney glacier in late march if coverage is sufficient. ping me if interested.
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