SierraDescents.com

SierraDescents | 2014

Mammoth Wind

Mammoth Wind

If the north wind is the scourge of the Sierra (as Mingori and Greenberg write) it is doubly so for isolated, treeless Mammoth Mountain. High winds and holiday crowds made for (more)

It’s Coming In Warm

It's Coming In Warm

Good news, bad news again from the west coast: indications are we're on the cusp of seeing a major winter storm hit California, perhaps the most significant storm of the past (more)

Snow, Rain, & Mesh Canopies

Snow, Rain, & Mesh Canopies

The good news is it's early December and there is skiing in Southern California. The bad news is last week's heavy rain did exactly what you'd expect to the local resorts' (more)

Summit Opens

Summit Opens

Skis touch snow once again and I say AAHHH it feels good. Opening day 2014: once again I am in awe of Snow Summit's snowmaking capability. We drove past an utterly bare Snow (more)

Black Diamond Carbon Convert

Black Diamond Carbon Convert

If you ask me, Black Diamond has been victimized, to an extent, by the very same perfect powder that makes Utah skiing so famous. Skis tuned to perform in that incomparable (more)

La Sportiva Vapor Nano

La Sportiva Vapor Nano

If you want a ski with lots of surface area and very, very little weight, La Sportiva presents the aptly-named Vapor Nano: 103mm underfoot and 5.29lbs per pair (spec). The Vapor (more)

Lange RS 130: Liner Updates Make a Difference

Lange RS 130: Liner Updates Make a Difference

Lange has been making the RS-130 for so long and for so well it seems almost presumptuous to review it. This is the boot for citizen racing and elite frontside performance. (more)

Pumpkins, Snow, & Rainbows

Pumpkins, Snow, & Rainbows

Are we not overdue? Depending on how you see the glass, we have now gone three years in a row without a true Sierra winter. Three years! It seems like a lifetime. Throughout (more)

Dynafit Huascaran

Dynafit Huascaran

Dynafit's Huascaran took me completely by surprise. With the Huascaran we know we're getting a light ski, but who could have expected how solid it is? Skiing the Huascaran (more)

Wildrose Peak Panorama

Wildrose Peak Panorama

As with next-door neighbor Telescope Peak, Death Valley's Wildrose Peak features striking juxtapositions of desert and alpine landscapes. Wildrose is in the Panamint Range, (more)

Volkl Reboots the Mantra

Volkl Reboots the Mantra

The Mantra has changed. Yes, there have been minor tweaks to Volkl's All Mountain masterpiece over the years, including the daring addition of a dash of tip rocker. But this time (more)

Fransson

Fransson

He was one of the titans of modern extreme skiing, with a traditional, mountaineering tilt that connected him directly to the most storied names of the past. On September 29, (more)

Dirty Girl Gaiters

Dirty Girl Gaiters

Of course we all hate scree gaiters, but the darned things tend to be useful—particularly (as is often the case) when we've decided not to bring them. Leave the scree gaiters (more)

La Sportiva Ultra Raptor

La Sportiva Ultra Raptor

The only thing wrong with La Sportiva's Ultra Raptor is that it's not a mid. For ultra-class hikers and runners, this is an outstanding all-day shoe. The Ultra Raptor is (more)

Sawtooth Peak

Sawtooth Peak

Trevor and I paid a visit to Mineral King yesterday, and as we hiked past mile after mile of richly colored rock, I have to say I kept feeling potent impulses to grab a pick axe (more)

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About SierraDescents

When there is snow, SierraDescents is Andy Lewicky's California backcountry skiing and mountaineering website. Without snow, sierradescents becomes an ill-tempered hiking and climbing blog.

Pray for snow.