SierraDescents | 2017
March 25, 2017
Scarpa F1 Review
Maybe Scarpa's F1 doesn't quite fit into the "ultralight" Alpine Touring ski boot category, but at just less than five and a half pounds per pair, it's very, very (more)
March 20, 2017
Scouting Folly
What do you do when the mountain says, 'I want to hurt you'? That was the question this past weekend, when Al and I scouted Folly Peak, for a planned but aborted ski descent of (more)
March 16, 2017
Pieps Micro Review
With its new Micro avalanche beacon, Pieps has managed an impressive feat: they have added a genuine innovation to what would otherwise seem to be a fully-mature technology (more)
March 13, 2017
Go West, Young Man
You have seen it, have you not? Of course you have—it is the great White Whale of Southern California Skiing. Indeed, people across the world have seen it, via iconic (more)
March 11, 2017
Sugarloaf aka The Bump
I am pleased at long last to announce success in my longtime quest to climb and ski Big Bear's Sugarloaf Mountain. Sadly and contrary to expectation, this one turns out to be a (more)
March 7, 2017
Baden-Powell – East Face
Baden-Powell is one cool mountain. This is easily a premier SoCal backcountry skiing destination, but snow and road issues have kept me away for a while. I haven't been here (more)
February 24, 2017
Scouting Sugarloaf
Sugarloaf Mountain is kind of a nondescript bump at the east end of the ridge that connects Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski areas above Big Bear Lake. I'm tempted to ski it (more)
February 19, 2017
Lost in the San Jacintos
Ah, that incomparable feeling when you're deep in the wild and you suddenly realize you have no idea where you are. This happens to me a lot in the San Jacintos. I joke I get (more)
February 10, 2017
Snow Valley Musings
2017. Whatever you were expecting, I doubt this was it. Took the kids to Snow Valley this past weekend. Slide Peak is open, and that does tip Snow Valley into a genuinely (more)
February 2, 2017
Mount Pinos & Sawmill Mountain
At 8831', Mount Pinos is the highest point in Ventura County and, believe it or not, the 11th most prominent peak in California. Pinos is an easy drive up the 5 from LA County, (more)
January 30, 2017
Snoverload
It is like the Sierra of old: a great gleaming white shield dominating the horizon. Do you have a fantasy line? The Sirens are calling. Everything—and I mean (more)
January 25, 2017
Damn Frickin’ Lucky To Be Here Day
More than 20 million Southern Californians work and play within an 80 mile radius, and yet I was literally all alone yesterday exploring the trees of the San Jacinto (more)
January 23, 2017
Waterman
Snow, snow, and more snow. Al and I wound our way up the 2 on Saturday during the mid-storm break to check out Mount Waterman. We skinned up for an easy run down the face, and (more)
January 17, 2017
It’s a SoCal Winter!
Southern California dead-enders rejoice: 2017 will finally mark the end of the past semi-decade's accursed endless summer. Across the Southland there is snow—and lots of (more)
January 8, 2017
Super Storm
The satellite images are stunning but also sobering. With Mammoth currently reporting a 170" upper-mountain snowpack, yet another powerful storm is en route, this one described (more)
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