SierraDescents | Category | Skiing
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)
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)
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)
