SierraDescents | Page 4
January 24, 2023
Skiing The Waterman Backcountry
I admit I was at best marginally interested in heading to the San Gabriels this past weekend. There were any number of things that sounded like they'd be more fun. Riding my (more)
January 5, 2023
Happy New Year!
The weather pipeline continues for California, bringing some truly spectacular storms this past week. Mammoth is currently reporting a 158" base at McCoy Station—with much (more)
December 26, 2022
Mammoth Christmas
Following an unseasonably warm and dry Christmas weekend, we have an impressive storm on the way. Expect at least modest snowfall in the SoCal mountains, and heavy snow and rain (more)
December 10, 2022
Scarpa F1 GT Review
Scarpa was kind enough to send a pair of their new F1 GT Alpine Touring boots, so I put together a video review comparing the GT to the original F1, which I own. Both of these (more)
November 13, 2022
November Snow
Thanks to a very intense November storm, I am happy to report we have snowy mountains on our horizon. Portions of the San Gabriels saw some six to eight inches of water last (more)
October 28, 2022
My 2022-2023 Ski Gear
Toward the end of last winter I switched to a new backcountry rig, going from my Dynastar Mythics with Dynafit bindings to Blizzard's Zero G 95 with ATK's Raider 12's. The (more)
August 30, 2022
The Mountain Took My Phone, My Car, & My Tooth
Mountains demand sacrifices—we all know that. So when I accidentally left my phone atop Mount Baldy's west summit, I thought: Fine. Better than blood. My friend Matt (more)
August 24, 2022
Biking the Santa Monicas
SoCal skiers please do not take this as yet another sign of the coming apocalypse, but I have in fact purchased a mountain bike and I am greatly enjoying it. I suppose I could (more)
June 11, 2022
Skiing the Kuna Crest
After having loads of fun skiing Mammoth Mountain's closing day in the rain, I drove up Tioga Pass, wanting to see if any promising hike-and-ski opportunities remained. The (more)
April 25, 2022
The Division Creek Drainage
I wanted to see if I could reach the snow. In the eastern Sierra there is a tradition of long, heroic epics in which skiers carry skis up desperately remote drainages in hopes of (more)
March 23, 2022
Kratka Ridge
Here is the base of lost SoCal ski area Kratka Ridge (a.k.a. Snowcrest) as seen yesterday off Highway 2 in the San Gabriel Mountains. Yes, there is still a bit of snow up there, (more)
March 6, 2022
Prospect Express With and Without Storm
Telluride's Prospect Express was installed in 2001, adding a quick 5-minute, thousand-vertical-foot ride that somehow manages to be both sublime and transformative. The lift (more)
February 14, 2022
2022 WWSRA Ski Reviews
After the forced hiatus of last year, I very happily attended the 2022 WWSRA on-snow demo at Mammoth Mountain this past week, testing skis in the All Mountain and Touring (more)
February 1, 2022
Grinnell
10,294-foot Grinnell Mountain lies in the San Bernardino Mountains toward the northeast corner of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. I've had my eye on Grinnell for a long (more)
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)
