Eastern Sierra Backcountry Thread 2020-21

[Boissal]

^^^
Awesome!! What a rad experience it must be to do that with your kid. Young lady has a bright future of crushing in front of her it looks like.

[TBS]

Attachment 371451
Attachment 371459

^^^Father of the year stuff right there!
Well done

[~mikey b]

fkna

[~mikey b]

Virginia Lakes Road is fully cleared and open.

[Ottime]

Awesome Frank.

[gimpy]

Fkna!!!!........outfuckingstanding akb+++

[priapism]

That owns. Next generation of skiers/climbers/riders are gonna rip and we’re gonna struggle to keep up

[BoulderBreak]

Awesome stuff AKbruin, nice work! Your TR puts that trip on my hit list for sure.

[liv2ski]

Right on AKB for teaching your girl a love of the outdoors. She will remember those days forever.

[mr. hankey]

Wow AKB, I think that's the most impressive thing i've seen on this board. To be able to physically do it, the skills to climb it, the skills to ski it - most adults are lucky to have one or two of those, and your kid has all three at such a young age. Crazy. That kid is gonna be a future super star. And to think I was all smiles that my kids did their first "jump" at Donner ski ranch on Sunday. Can i drop them off with you for say ~next full winter-ish~ so you can get their skills up? yah?

ok, seriously, how's the coverage to get back there? is the road close to melting out? Are the flats mostly skinnable? seems like the worthy options now are either multi day options like this, smaller days at Virginia/sonora or drive up north (lassen, PNW).

[Benneke10]

AKB you are a legend!

I'll be visiting from Utah next week and hoping to get up high conditions permitting. Never been to the Eastern Sierra with skis, but I am familiar with the terrain in summer. I'm looking at the SE Face of Ritter (major inspiration from AKB!) and the E Face of Mt Wood. Anybody know what the status is of the roads to Agnew Meadows (Ritter) and Parker Bench (Wood)? Interested if anyone has any suggestions for ideas I'm missing, looking for something with a big climb and a descent that doesn't get much steeper than 40 degrees.

[jsonP]

Not sure about Ritter, but for Wood, it's almost best to just park south of Grant Lake Marina right now, I'm sure Parker bench is still doable though. When I hit it last weekend there was enough snow to ski from the summit to about 50 ft from the 158 - right where the willow/aspen fun starts . Best to not ski the main chute too, it's pretty much moguled out (the next chute over skied pretty well, though the choke is getting thin). Make sure to stop by June pie with a summit selfie for 50% off a pizza too

[AKbruin]

Anybody know what the status is of the roads to Agnew Meadows (Ritter) and Parker Bench (Wood)? Interested if anyone has any suggestions for ideas I'm missing, looking for something with a big climb and a descent that doesn't get much steeper than 40 degrees.

ok, seriously, how's the coverage to get back there? is the road close to melting out? Are the flats mostly skinnable? seems like the worthy options now are either multi day options like this, smaller days at Virginia/sonora or drive up north (lassen, PNW).

Coverage generally: Things are melting so fast that it seems like beta is only good if it's within a few days. Except on northern, protected aspects, I wouldn't expect consistent coverage below 9k' or so.

Ritter coverage: We only dry hiked about half a mile. Coverage for the actual descent (Ritter to Ediza) is going to be good for a while. The long-ass approach, however, is going to get more and more skis-on/skis-off. We started from the Main Lodge and were able to ski the Minarets Road to Agnew Meadows all the way. They're be some dry patches now though. Unless they affirmatively plow that road, it won't open soon. There are places where the snow was still four-feet deep on it.

There will be skiing for another couple weeks, but it will mainly be Mammoth to Sonora. Benneke10: Keep an eye on 120 opening to the Yosemite Gate and 108 opening. Both have higher-elevation starts and should be popping in the next week or two (fingers crossed).

[guermo]

Excellent TR AKB - Great Work!

[Mtndaddy]

I just got skunked on a trip to AK; it was supposed to be 5 days on the glaciers out of Haines but instead it was five days of travel without skiing (weather). So we're looking for something between Bridgeport and Bishop to ski Friday (Excelsior is our plan Saturday). Any recommendations on a nice objective that we can do in a day? Is the Laurel Lakes road passible for Bloody? Mt Wood still reasonable? Others???
Thanks

[Ottime]

^^^^
I do t have any suggestions or current conditions but VA lakes is always a simple back up plan.

[Benneke10]

I'll be arriving from Utah tomorrow for the week and would love to do some skiing if anyone wants a partner. Thinking of starting with VA lakes tomorrow to get the lay of the land, what time do the slopes start to corn up around 11k?

[powdork]

I wood say no on would. Virginia Lakes gets you pretty high. Little walker river road gets to north faces on Emma and back there but really keep any eye on 120 to the park.

Edit-nvmd mtndaddy just saw you’ve already gone

[powdork]

Benneke10 it totally depends on the aspect. SE gully on dberg could be ready by 10-11 whereas something n facing might be ready at 2


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[gimpy]

Have u driven up little walker recently pdork? how high up can u drive right now?

[jsonP]

Toured around VA lakes this weekend (Friday 4/16 and Saturday 4/17).
A quick refresh of light dry snow on Wednesday made conditions quite favorable (6 inches at the snotel).

Hit the north chutes off of Black Mountain on Friday and then a quick lap on the Red Lake bowl, generally dust on crust conditions but plenty of turns that wouldn't scrape the crust.
(Iphone-5 pics so sorry for the terrible quality)
Main chute Black mountain:


Red Lake Bowl, decent powder up top and transitional mid bowl and below

From the summit: Dore cliffs (which had some great lines down them) to North Peak and beyond

Got a good view of Excelsior...

So we skied that on Saturday:


All dust, no crust. Good conditions up at that elevation on north facing aspects.

[~mikey b]

from Caltrans






TUOLUMNE COUNTY – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has removed snow, cleared debris and made necessary repairs to open State Route 108/Sonora Pass to Kennedy Meadows at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 19, 2021.

The diligent work of Caltrans crews enabled the opening of this section of the pass in time for the beginning of trout fishing season in the Eastern Sierra, which begins on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Tourists can now reach the Kennedy Meadows Resort and other attractions in the Sierra Nevada.

There is no estimated opening date for the full SR-108/Sonora Pass.

Caltrans recognizes the importance of this route to the region’s economy, which depends a great deal on tourism. Crews responsible for the road opening extend their best wishes for those traveling who enjoy the recreational opportunities this part of California has to offer.

For the latest road information, visit quickmap@dot.ca.cov, or call our Road Condition Hotline at 1-800-427-ROAD (7623).

[meter-man]

Toured around VA lakes this weekend (Friday 4/16 and Saturday 4/17).
All dust, no crust. Good conditions up at that elevation on north facing aspects.

Great stoke. Thanks for sharing - need to explain that region more.

[CaliKid]

So we skied that on Saturday:


All dust, no crust. Good conditions up at that elevation on north facing aspects.

Thanks for the stoke. How is the coverage down low for the point to point from Excelsior down to Lundy?

[whatsupdoc]

Have u driven up little walker recently pdork? how high up can u drive right now?

gimpy, I drove up that way Sunday. We were able to drive all the way to the Burt Canyon TH without encountering any snow. We parked there but the first part of the 'trail' is actually a dirt road. We could have driven maybe a mile further only crossing small patches of snow. It was gated after about a mile. There were 2 parking spots right next to that gate.

Good stuff JsonP