Happy Groundhog’s Day backcountry skiers and snowboarders!! A happy one it is indeed. Best holiday of the year, every year I do declare. Finally, something to write about! It’s been a good season so far, hovering around the average mark. Generally excellent conditions have prevailed, though December was a bit disappointing relative to the forecasts and January had a period of spooky persistent slab problems that the good folks at the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center have been tracking. A brief …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – December 11, 2018
Happy holidays backcountry skiers and riders! Hope y’all had a fine summer. Maybe it even included some scampering in the High Sierra on dusty trails, scree-filled gullies, and large fields of talus, uncivilized as that may sound. The season of backcountry fun is upon us, and that means the reinvigoration of our venerable Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report. Last season at this time we sat around with our boards all waxed and ready to go, but the season didn’t turn …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – March 3rd, 2018
Greetings riders de la backcountríe, Last time we said this report would be updated when there is something exciting to talk about. Well, how about the biggest storm of the season doubling our snowpack in the first 3 days of March? Yes!! Thanks for all the snow dances, prayers to Ullr, pagan rituals, toasts, & burning effigies that seem to have done the trick. The animal sacrifices may have been a bit much, but thanks for the efforts anyway. …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – February 2, 2018
Happy Groundhog Day backcountry skiers and snowboarders! We have always considered Feb 2nd to be the best holiday of the year. It foretells us about the weather outlook and the extent of our winter backcountry season. For those who don’t follow the groundhog, it is a rodent, common to alpine terrain, closely related to, and sharing the same genus of, the Marmot. The groundhog comes out of his hole in the ground on Feb 2nd. Its reaction to the weather …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – August 1, 2017
Alrighty, this is kind of a joke at this point, but I wanted to put a wrap on the backcountry report at some ridiculously late point in the summer. We stopped guiding the backcountry about a month ago. The irony is though that people are still getting out there and having fun. Sure, it’s summer, and you do have to hike those boards in a ways, but there are still a few places where the hike is not that …
State of the Eastern Sierra Backcountry – May 18, 2017
Intrepid backcountry ski & snowboard adventurers! Another spring is in full swing, and that means it’s time to issue our (11th annual!) State of the Backcountry Report for the Eastern Sierra. Every spring, as the snowpack starts to shrink faster than it grows we like to help folks out with some up to date info to ride out the spring ski planning with. This report comes a bit later than usual, as we anticipate the spring skiing to be good …
Devil’s Dream Tour & Backcountry Snow Report – April 7, 2017
Happy spring Eastern Sierra skiers and riders! Hope you are enjoying the Sierra backcountry season so far. It’s only around half way done. And with that in mind I would like this post to serve a few different purposes: 1) to help inform you about recent and current conditions as per usual, 2) to celebrate June Mountain and all that it offers us backcountry recreators on the eve of it’s annual spring closure, and 3) to report on a tour …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – March 10th, 2017
Hi backcountry skiers and snowboard riders, We meet again! We have neglected this report for a month and a half now. If this has pissed you off… then good. I guess we are doing it well, when we do it. But anyone who actually has been skiing in the Eastern Sierra since we last reported knows that really there has been little to report, other than that this amazing winter got even better through late February. If this is news …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – January 20th, 2017
Good day to you backcountry skiers and riders, And a good day for all of us. We did it! Our collective pleas to the snow gods have been answered. A little late, but wow. The call has been answered in force. As I write this during a much needed rest day it is snowing huge flakes at around 2″/hour at 4000′ elevation in the town of Bishop. It has been a while since our last report, but I think everyone …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – January 2nd, 2017
Happy New Year backcountry skiers and snowboarders! Early season snow conditions have been great and it was a wonderful holiday season… yadda, yadda. The relevant thing to be talking about though is not what has been (check out our earlier reports for that), but what is to come… Our New Year’s resolution is to ski more powder, and more powder we shall ski! At least if model forecasts have any credibility in this decade. The NWS is calling for over …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – December 23rd, 2016
Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays backcountry enthusiasts! This installment of the BC Snow Report comes after an excellent week plus of early season backcountry skiing and riding. The last storm came in last Thursday wet and heavy with rain up to 9000’+ before cooling and amounting to more than 3.5 feet of snow in 24 hours at 9000′ on Mammoth Mountain. A record 14 inches of liquid water equivalent fell in this period but, unfortunately, a large amount of …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – December 11th, 2016
This installment of the Report will be by video… Here are some other images for your added information and enjoyment…