SierraDescents | Category | Current Conditions
November 15, 2016
Mammoth Opens
Conditions out there, I know, are stormy—very, very stormy. We'll talk about skiing for now. For now. Mammoth has officially opened for the 2016-2017 season, making for a (more)
March 29, 2016
Mammoth News
Back from Spring Break at Mammoth Mountain and trying to catch up on the usual backlog of things I'm supposed to be doing. Let's start by talking about Eastern Sierra backcountry (more)
March 6, 2016
Information Underload
As we progress through what must our driest wet winter ever (or is it the wettest dry winter?), I have really been struggling to piece together what has happened, will happen, and (more)
December 22, 2015
Back To Snow
I am pleased to report I got back into ski boots and successfully carved GS turns on the groomers at Snow Summit yesterday. What a magical thing it is to return to skiing after (more)
July 16, 2015
Flagstaff
Back in my other hometown of Flagstaff now for some R&R; maybe some hiking on the agenda, maybe not. Monsoon mostly quiet right now, which is I suppose the Arizona equivalent of (more)
July 10, 2015
Is It Time to Buy El Nino Insurance?
Well, the El Nino predictions for this coming winter seem to be firming up, just when I was starting to kick my Howard Sheckter addiction. Now, I say we don't start celebrating (more)
June 13, 2015
Surviving the Gloom
Among the many challenges residents of Southern California face, perhaps none is so dire as the loss of the very thing that defines our existence. I am speaking, of course, of (more)
May 26, 2015
The Winter Wrap: 2015
What happened? I think I can safely speak on behalf of most Californians when I say 2014-2015 was not the winter we were hoping for. Coming fresh on the heels of last year's (more)
May 8, 2015
Say No To Summer Alert!
On the strength of an out-of-nowhere May storm that has dropped 12-18" of fresh snow and is still going, Mammoth Mountain has cancelled their planned closure this weekend. I (more)
May 2, 2015
Mammoth in May
Here was my thought: what if I could pretend I was skiing in August, instead of May? Today's conditions would be pretty spectacular, I reasoned, if we were skiing in August, and (more)
March 9, 2015
Dust to Dust
Those of you who made it to the Big Bear area this past weekend found conditions about as good as they've been all year, thanks to fresh snow and a furious bout of snowmaking. (more)
February 23, 2015
At The Eleventh Hour, Snow
I was thinking, yesterday, about skinny runs. For those of you who skied in the 70's or 80's, I'm sure you remember them, because that's all there were: narrow, winding runs that (more)
February 11, 2015
Mammoth Encased In Ice
Yes, I'd heard Mammoth Mountain saw rain virtually from top to bottom over the past few days, but some things you just have to see with your own eyes to believe. Holy Mr. (more)
February 11, 2015
Above and Below the Line
Here's a fairly dramatic look at just how high the snow level was during this last Sierra storm cycle. This looks like the aftermath of some kind of freakish summer snow squall, (more)
February 9, 2015
Reluctant Post-Storm Discussion
I guess we have to say something about the storm, though for the past few hours I've been wondering if maybe it would be better if we all just pretended it never happened. (more)
