SierraDescents | Category | Current Conditions
June 5, 2010
TPR Opens
Hooray—sort of. It's probably not news to you by now, but Tioga Pass Road has opened for the 2010 season as of 8 a.m. Saturday. Bummer of course is that this year's (more)
February 24, 2010
The San Juan Snowpack
Telluride sits in the northern San Juan Mountains—a part of the Rockies notorious for its unstable snowpack. A big, ugly beast of a natural avalanche put an exclamation (more)
January 19, 2010
3 Storms
Just got back last night—drive home from June Lake was very challenging. I'll be writing quite a bit over the next month about my Avalanche class experience. For now, let (more)
December 7, 2009
December Snow
A cold storm is working its way in, with snow levels currently down around 4000 feet in the local mountains. Looks like my $49.00 pseudo-season pass for Mt. Baldy is going to pay (more)
June 5, 2009
June comes with Snow
Well, I think I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't point out that heavy rain is falling here in the basin, and snow has fallen, is falling, and will fall all over the (more)
April 6, 2009
Baldy Aerial View
Back home now in sunny Southern California. Here's a look at Mt. San Antonio's north face as seen yesterday through the plane window. I was hoping to catch a peek at San (more)
April 3, 2009
Chair 9, Dust, Winter Storm Watch
What a funny trip this has been. I really agonized over whether or not to go, and finally decided at the last minute, thinking I'd enjoy some late-spring skiing. And then this (more)
March 23, 2009
On the Chairlift
Went up Sunday to ski in-bounds at Mount Baldy. It was one of those kinds of days that only a mother could love: high wind, no visibility, and cold, damp air that coated (more)
February 21, 2009
The San Francisco Peaks
If there's a prettier mountain in the world, I don't want to know about it. Here's my hometown mountain, the San Francisco Peaks (Arizona's high point), as seen from the north. (more)
February 7, 2009
Snow!
It feels like the SoCal ski season just got a last-minute governor's reprieve. As of Saturday morning, this series of storms has left a reported 36" of new snow at Mt. Baldy Ski (more)
January 30, 2009
Winter Back on Vacation
Well last week's storm cycle didn't last long! Long range forecasts suggest a return to our non-winter winter: warm and dry. Conditionally locally look pretty bleak. I haven't (more)
January 16, 2009
On the Beach
Well, after last weekend's adventure, I figured I'd take some time off from skiing the backcountry. Sue at ESAC reports marginal conditions. Apparently the Sierra is on track to (more)
December 24, 2008
A Christmas Storm
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you! Looks like we'll be enjoying a white Christmas in the mountains this year. Heavy snows (18-36") are forecast in the High Sierra, plus (more)
November 16, 2008
Smoke at Sunrise
Here's a look at the sunrise from near our home this morning: that's a lot of smoke. The Yorba Linda/Anaheim area fires are about sixty miles east of us, which gives a sense of (more)
July 16, 2008
Whitney Fish Hatchery Destroyed
Sounds like it was a wild weekend in the Whitney Portal region, with heavy storms closing the portal road (due to mudslides) and even Highway 395 (which remains closed at (more)
