False White

Chances of Memorial Day snow notwithstanding, this is probably going to be the last hurrah this year for my Sierra backcountry season—a ski descent of False White Mountain via the southeast face.

With Tioga Pass open, False White is certainly within the day trip realm, though it did take a little longer than expected to get back there. Coverage on the face is getting a little thin, but if you don't mind a few sun cups, there will certainly be snowfields up there for a while longer.

Why do they call it False White?

Because the real White Mountain (at least, the Yosemite version—not the fourteener) is hidden behind False White, so that it's easy to get the two confused.

False White also has a false summit, which makes for a lot of falsehood, if you ask me. Trevor and I ended up climbing that first, thinking we were heading up the true high point. False White is also close to ghost town Bennettville, the busted mining venture that gave us Tioga Pass Road.

— May 23, 2012

Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents

Sofia - Winterstays May 23, 2012 at 4:57 pm

What a beautiful view from the top!

Caleb May 24, 2012 at 10:25 pm

I was up there the last weekend of June last year, and there was significantly more coverage! Absolutely insane sun cups, though.