Gorgonio vs The Sofa
Looking back at my records, I see the last time I visited San Gorgonio was May 2020, which means it took me exactly six years to forget how awful the approach is.
In any case, I have definitely refreshed my memory!
Al and I Gorgonioed yesterday, starting at the South Fork trailhead off Jenks Lake Road, and grinding it all the way on foot to about the 9500' mark, where we at last encountered a quite snowy mountain and, all things considered, surprisingly good skiing.
North aspects have plenty of smooth to lightly-textured snow right now, and should continue to be skiable for at least another few weeks. As always with SoCal skiing, watch for ice/firmness up high. Weather was cool and windy for us, so we topped out at 11K, preferring not to deal with the crunchiness higher up.
We skied what I'll call Gorgonio's main north couloir—that's due east of the Big Draw. Working sunny aspects, we found good corn skiing mixed with some firm areas, and also the consolidating remains of fresh snowfall from the most recent storm.
Jepson looks very tempting right now, but it's another dry mile over rough ground to get there, which is asking a lot.
There's no question the Gorgonio region is special, and with the death of Highway 2 and continued agency bullshit regarding winter access to Mount Baldy, Gorgonio increasingly looks like our best option for interesting & viable SoCal backcountry skiing.
But the approach is savage.
I believe it's possible to bike a fire road from Jenks Lake road to Poopout Hill, which would help. I'll probably try that next time, as I've pretty much aged-out of the walkathon. The hike down really does become an exercise in pain tolerance, which is a shame, because the area otherwise offers some of SoCal's very best touring.
— May 4, 2026
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents