The San G Report

Good news here is that I finally blew the dust off my Dynafits. Bad news is conditions weren’t very amenable to skiing. Trevor and I hiked up the San Bernardino Wilderness’ South Fork Trail to look for snow, and—surprise!—we found it. There was quite a bit more snow than I was expecting, in fact, with at least decent coverage on wind-protected north aspects above 9000′ or so (more…)

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Snow News; SMG AK Trip

Once again I stayed in-bounds locally with my kids over the weekend. I was tempted to day-trip to the Sierra, but insider info from Sierra Mountain Guides’ Howie Schwartz plus Sue’s buzzkill avy forecast pretty much quashed any inclination I had to get out of bed early. Though ESAC is calling for low overall avalanche hazard, my read of their advisories is that where you’ll find good skiing you’ll also find elevated risk (more…)

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A Photo You Don’t Need to See…

But, I’ll show it anyway: Baldy Bowl, from 10,000 feet, February 1st, 2012. Yes, that’s pretty much a snowless mountain in the midst of a snowless season with no snow in sight. As for the Sierra, there are rumors of a long-range weather pattern shift which might bring some moisture, so there’s a tiny dose of optimism for you. Flying over central Colorado today, I saw what I would call ‘abundant’ coverage (more…)

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Avalanche Danger is HIGH

In the context of this winter, I suppose we have to call this good news. Locally, I don’t think enough snow has fallen to open up anything other than (maybe) a few shaded north gullies. In any case, if you do go out to take a look around, approach everything with extreme caution. This is not a normal year…

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2-4″ Possible

It’s something, at least…

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TPR Open?

Is Tioga Pass Road really open? Really? I can’t believe it. I can not believe it. January 14, 2012, and SR 120 is showing “NO RESTRICTIONS” through the heart of the central Sierra? As a likely event this is probably right up there with me posting photos of myself skiing down the hill on Federal Avenue alongside my West LA apartment building (as in, Hell freezing over ) (more…)

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A Bony New Year

Well, the good news is I’ve found a place where heavy snow is falling, but the bad news is that it’s Hillroth Mountain in Skyrim. Here in Flagstaff I suppose we should be happy that the Arizona Snowbowl is at least open, but paying full price for a ticket to wreck your skis does make me a bit grinchy (memo to resort: drop the price or offer a voucher or something). I’ve been riding my ancient Atomic R11′s, which I swore I’d never ski again, and honestly things are so bare (more…)

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Baldy Bowl is Bare

Bummer!

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The Snow Report

Well that was an unexpected hello from winter! The weekend storm proved to be a potent one, hammering the Southland and dropping impressive November snowfall in the mountains. Mountain High says 5-10″ of new snow, Mt. Baldy says six inches, and Mammoth reports 12″ over the last 24 hours. Note that Mountain High, Snow Summit, and Mammoth are already open for skiers for the 2011-2012 season. For Big Bear visitors, the blasted highway is at last open, meaning you won’t have to take the bypass any more—thank goodness.

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October

In the Palisades… And Mammoth Mountain reports 15″ of new snow on the ground.

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