SierraDescents | Category | Current Conditions
February 22, 2019
LA Basin Snowfall!
Winter storm Quiana has brought snow to the Los Angeles Basin. The LA Times reports snow fell in parts of Malibu, Pasadena, West Hollywood, and many more iconic SoCal locations, (more)
February 2, 2019
What’s Going On Out There?
Rain is the big story for Southern California once again as yet another powerful winter storm comes in warm and wet. Higher elevations may see spectacular snowfall totals. (more)
January 28, 2019
Bear Mountain
Bear is such a quirky resort. Every time I ski here I'm reminded first of all how big the terrain is (by SoCal standards), and then how strange the place is. Like Sugarloaf (more)
January 21, 2019
Waterman
Mount Waterman is not open, but they should be. I'd say they have a solid three feet of extremely dense snow at the ski area's summit, with decent (albeit icy) coverage down to (more)
January 15, 2019
A SoCal Storm Cycle (Updated)
Happy January everyone we have a bona fide SoCal storm cycle on our hands. Once upon a time a normal Southern California winter featured not one but several of these—and in (more)
December 23, 2018
Early Season Sierra
As Christmas nears, things look thin-ish along the 395 corridor from Lone Pine to Mammoth. Certainly there is snow to be found, and some skiable backcountry lines, but not a (more)
December 7, 2018
Kenneth Hahn
Here's the iconic Los Angeles-as-ski-town shot we've been waiting for, taken this morning from Kenneth Hahn State Park, with Mount Baldy's west face rising above the downtown (more)
November 29, 2018
Will There Be Snow, Cont’d…
I hesitate to call attention to this in case it's just a figment of my imagination, but there does appear to be a little bit of snow in our forecast—maybe even enough to put (more)
November 10, 2018
The California Fires
The images defy description. Words flee the body when you stare at a cloud like this. What does it mean, when Mother Nature turns her fury upon us? Where is there to (more)
June 12, 2018
Summer Arrives
Seeing Mammoth Mountain this early June really hammers home how outstanding the skiing was last season. I think my 2017 June trip to Mammoth was one of my all-time (more)
April 29, 2018
Maybe Skip Onion Valley…
The good news is the road is open all the way to the parking lot at Onion Valley. The bad news is that's because there's no snow up there—the parking lot and campground are (more)
March 26, 2018
March Miracle for Mammoth
California has indeed gotten its Miracle March—parts of it, anyhow. Mammoth reports reports 17 feet of snow fell this month on the upper mountain (eleven at Main Lodge), (more)
March 14, 2018
SoCal Rain (and Snow?)
This is Bear Mountain's Bear Peak Cam, as of this morning, March 14, 2018, and...where the heck is the snow? Yes, March has finally shifted us from a dry to a reasonably wet (more)
February 11, 2018
Gorgonio & San Jacinto
Here's an aerial view of the north aspects of the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Jacintos, taken yesterday Feb 11, 2018. Gorgonio, at least, has more snow than I was (more)
January 20, 2018
SoCal Backcountry Report
Well. The cursed pattern persists. This most recent storm seems to be focusing its efforts on the San Bernardino Mountains, which might lead to 6" or so of new snow in the most (more)
