SierraDescents | Category | Skiing
June 24, 2019
Return to Dana
With Tioga Pass Road now open to the east Yosemite gate (and intermittently all the way through to the Central Valley), this past weekend seemed like the perfect time to revisit (more)
March 25, 2019
Mountain High East
I knew I loved to ski Mountain High East, but I had forgotten why: MHE offers by far Southern California's best intermediate/cruiser skiing, reminiscent of Colorado groomers, with (more)
March 20, 2019
Waterman Spins its Lifts
Here's one of the Holy Grails of Southern California skiing: I finally got to ski Mount Waterman, which opened this past weekend. Yes, I've skinned around the area before, but (more)
February 6, 2019
Southern California Dreaming (Reprise)
Motivated by forecasts of ultra-low snow levels and dreams of cold-smoke glory, Trevor and I returned yesterday to the San Jacinto Wilderness to reprise our 2012 Southern (more)
April 17, 2018
Skiing Baden-Powell, 2018 Edition
You should have seen the look on my wife's face when I brought out my skis this past weekend. For the record, this was 100% Al's doing, not mine. He's the one who had a (more)
June 8, 2017
Mount Sill: Two North Couloirs
After a long break, I made my way back to the Sierra's Palisades Crest for a climb and ski of Mount Sill. My expectations were modest on this one, but Sill turned out to be a (more)
May 3, 2017
Mount Russell – Northeast Couloir
I haven't skied anything remotely like this since Mount Muir six years ago. This is normally just a giant cliff face. When we crested Russell-Carillon Col and saw it was covered (more)
April 27, 2017
Skiing The Thumb
A few quick notes: jeez, the wind was bad on this one, but the trip itself was great. This is a new format designed to better feature my photography. Yes, I know a lot is broken (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 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 2, 2016
Snowbowl Gets A Lift
A new chairlift, that is. I would tell you its name, but the Snowbowl's website is currently down, so the new lift will have to remain at least temporarily nameless. Nameless (more)
October 3, 2014
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)
May 30, 2014
The Vertigo Machine
It is unlike any other chairlift I know of, and it scares the hell out of me every time I ride it. I'm talking of course about Mammoth Mountain's wonderful Chair 23, that aging (more)
May 28, 2014
Memorial Day
For me, the 2013-2014 winter began and now ends with Mammoth: a Thanksgiving opening and a Memorial Day close. Yes, in terms of snowfall, this year ranks easily among the most (more)
December 9, 2013
Reading the SoCal Backcountry
I know what you're thinking: it's snowing! How much has it snowed? Has it snowed enough? It is worth it to try hitting the SoCal backcountry? How do you know if it's deep (more)