Hey there Ice climbers – Its been a few weeks since I have gotten to climb in Lee Vining Canyon and Last weekend the storms cleared and the road got plowed. It was great to finally be able to get back into the canyon. On Saturday 2/25 I guided a group of 2 guests into Lee Vining. Our avalanche hazard had trended to lowering danger throughout last week. That said with the “Outlier” high snowfall amounts that we have received …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report “Febu-Buried” 18th, 2019
Hey there Ice Climbers. We are just on the tail end of another storm system that has hit our area. The Sierra got hit with heavy but warm precipitation in the form of rain to 10,000′. This brought ample moisture and helped to lock down the bottom part of our snowpack as well as ensure plenty of moisture up high for this springs “freeze – thaw” ice season. Avalanche Danger remained high throughout the storm in addition to several road …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – February 7th, 2019 ***Post Storm Update***
Hey there Ice Climbers. WE have had a fantastic and wintery start to our February and as winter enthusiast many people were celebrating that the groundhog did not see his shadow during our last storm. Honestly many of us who experienced the 4 day storm that totaled between 7 and 10 feet of snow accumulation were pretty ready to see the few rays of sun when the storm finally broke on Tuesday. #Feburied photos adorned social media and powder hounds …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – February 2nd, 2019
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 Ice Report – January 28, 2019
Hey there Ice Climbers. We had a great 2 day Ice 101 program this past weekend. Warm temps kept us away from the Ice at June Lake but Lee Vining Canyon was perfect. The road in was 2WD friendly and the hike in was an easy boot pack on supportable snow without the need for snowshoes. The 1st creek crossing takes some careful balance but the 2nd crossing is covered with a snow bridge. Overall easy conditions on the approach. …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – January 24, 2019
Hey Ice Climbers We have missed the past 2 weeks of reporting for a few reasons. I had a surgery to clear my sinuses out which put me out of conditions for a few weeks, and a week of storms and avalanche cycles put the conditions for climbing Ice out of shape keeping most climbers thankfully out of the avalanche terrain where an avalanche incident could occur. MLK weekend was is over which often times tends to be a …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – January 4
Happy New Years Ice Climbers. We just had an amazing week for ice with super cold temps and clear skies. The Ice has been growing and the approach is in great condition in Lee Vining Canyon. Several Parties have been swinging tools and enjoying the ice this season (since the backcountry skiing has been low tide in many areas and the lines have been long for the resort winter recreation) I was out yesterday in Lee Vining Canyon and enjoyed …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – December 24
Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas. I got to celebrate a special Solstice on the ice on Friday with my good friend Eric. It was great to be outside recreating in winter with the knowledge that the days are officially getting longer and the ice is getting fatter. The road into Lee Vining was in good shape and though the morning started with high wind gusts and even some rain and snow showers it turned into a beautiful day out. There …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – December 18
Hey there Ice climbers – cold temps and short days are giving us great conditions for the ice to grow. Several groups of climbers have been getting out since our Ice report last week. The ice is still overall thin but there are some great sticks. We had a small storm system early this week that gave us about 6-8 inches at higher elevations. This should help out with getting some moisture to help the ice grow. Overall great early …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – December 14,2018
Hey there California Ice Climbers. It’s that time of year and we are officially into our ice season this year. There have been loads of folks calling our office asking about ice conditions and social media posts have been going off with amazing ice in places like Canada, Montana, Wyoming, and even Colorado! Ice has been a little slower to get fat here but fear not… its in and people have been getting out and climbing ice these past few …
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 …
Early August Alpine Conditions
Hey there Sierra Alpine Climbers….I just wanted to do a quick update on some of the conditions that have been encountered so far this season. This has been an unusual season for climbing in the High Sierra. We didn’t have a very large snowpack this past winter but cooler temps in May and June gave us some great early season snow travel conditions. Entering into August the biggest factors that affected travel in the high alpine was almost a full …