SierraDescents.com

The Girly Man

Yes, it's Southern California's infamous steep-skiing classic, the Girly Man Chute, seen here in far from ideal conditions on an alternately foggy and sunny warm April day. Girly Man's entrance seems to vary depending on coverage.

On Saturday it was at least 55° at the entrance, maybe a tad steeper, with dangerously soft snow hanging above a rock garden, and of course the choke/dogleg waiting below to catch any mistakes. Intimidating? You bet.

Naturally Dave Braun jumped right in. Inspired by that dubious act (and the fact that Dave's lead cleared the worst of the sluff), fellow fanatic Al followed. Always the cautious one, I went one chute south, to the Hourglass, hoping to find better skiing (I didn't).

If it's not obvious from the video, things in Baldy Bowl are looking very, very burnt.

We amused ourselves on the apron below by triggering large but unusually shallow slides for each other to surf. This should probably come with some sort of disclaimer, but, heck, it was a lot of fun, and mother nature was kind enough not to drop any rocks on our heads to punish us for our misbehavior.

Probably time to direct our attention to the north, eh?

— April 5, 2011

Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents

Dan Conger April 5, 2011 at 12:36 pm

Every time I see one of your backcountry pieces/videos, I turn absolutely green with envy. Despite the conditions, to get out there that often and tear up the mountains is awesome.

tim April 5, 2011 at 12:37 pm

Great job on the video, really nice angle for Al.

Gary K April 5, 2011 at 4:06 pm

I find it a tad ironic that this video follows the 'Thoughts on that Helmet Article' thread. Confidence is bliss.

Andy April 5, 2011 at 4:16 pm

It's all a house of cards, isn't it...

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *