SierraDescents | Category | Skiing
January 4, 2022
Freidlein Prairie
Freidlein Prairie is where it all started—sidecountry access from the top of the Arizona Snowbowl's chairlift to the southside of the San Francisco Peaks and beyond. As (more)
May 17, 2020
Gorgonio
Yes, there is snow on Gorgonio's north face—but if you want it you'll have to work for it. Things were melted out all the way up to about 9400' yesterday, meaning you'll (more)
May 6, 2020
Mount Islip
The easy snow along Highway 2's Waterman Crest is all but gone now, melted out by late April's furious heat waves. That said, what a treasure this part of the San Gabriels is, (more)
January 16, 2020
Vail, All These Years Later
Originally an unnamed Colorado sheep hill near the training grounds for the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, Vail was born in winter 1957 when hunter, prospector, and skier Earl (more)
December 25, 2019
Christmas Snow
We were just about to head to the car yesterday when they suddenly opened Chair 23. A mad every-man-for-themselves dash later, Al and I flashed through an empty maze and boarded (more)
November 15, 2019
My Dreams of Vail
I have a number of recurring skiing dreams, all of which start happening around this time of year. The best involves me skiing down and disconnecting from the snow and pulling (more)
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)
