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    Rock Creek to Mammoth Ski Mountaineering

    Rock Creek to Mammoth Ski Mountaineering

    per person

    Rock Creek to Mammoth traverses over 30 miles of rugged and wild high country while tagging some of the baddest and most coveted ski lines in the Range of Light in an adventurous 8-day itinerary.


    One of the grand tours of the Sierra Crest, Rock Creek to Mammoth traverses over 30 miles of rugged and wild high country while tagging some of the baddest and most coveted ski lines in the Range of Light in an adventurous 8-day itinerary. Not intended as an introduction to ski mountaineering, but rather as a graduation from a healthy apprenticeship in the art of light, fast, and technical ski travel. Not a recommended tour for snowboarders, but we can put together a custom variation upon request.

    This tour is being offered at this price with a minimum of 2 to run on April 3-10, 2022, or on a custom, private basis.Best season is generally mid-March through mid-April.

    Red Slate Mountain from the summit of Red & White Mountain

    The ski options are endless and the scenery is spectacular.

    Like many of the finer things in life, ski terrain improves with age. Geologically, the colorful “roof pendant” rock formations were formed from ancient sea beds before the Sierra Nevada Range existed. When tectonic forces pushed granitic rock through the roof of this strata it lifted and cracked the Earth’s overlying crust. The subsequent erosion has given us a magnificent ski mountaineering paradise. The biggest and best steep ski lines in the Sierra are found in long swath of ancient stone on the Eastern side of the Sierra from near Independence all the way to Bridgeport. Rock Creek to Mammoth contains some of the most dramatic, remote, and skiable terrain of all of it. This tour starts in the granite of Rock Creek and traverses west of the Crest to access Mount Gabb and Mount Mills then north through the Mono Recesses to reach the colorful McGee Creek headwaters, Red & White Mountain, Red Slate Mountain, upper Convict Creek, and finally Bloody Mountain to finish in the Mammoth Lakes area.

    This 8-day adventure is an accessible tour that starts in the comfort of the Mosquito Flat Hut. It proceeds to travel through some of the most remote, yet classic ski mountaineering terrain in the range. The ski options are endless and the scenery is spectacular. If you have the time and the skills for it, this one is tough to beat.

    8 Days
    Backcountry Ski Destinations
    High Sierra
    Mammoth Lakes Area
    Sierra Crest Tours
    Ski
    • Included
      Backcountry Skiing
      Bloody Mountain
      Convict Creek
      Mammoth Lakes
      McGee Creek
      Mount Gabb
      Mount Mills
      Red and White Mountain
      Red Slate Mountain
      Rock Creek to Mammoth
      ski mountaineering
      ski touring
    • Not Included
      14ers
      3D chute
      3rd pillar
      3rd Pillar Dana
      AIARE
      AIARE 1
      AIARE 2
      Alaska
      Alaska skiing
      alpine
      alpine climbing
      alpine rock climbing
      Alps
      Alps climbing
      Alps running
      Alps skiing
      Alps trilogy
      American Mountain Guides Association
      AMGA
      avalanche awareness
      avalanche course
      backcountry
      backcountry 101
      backcountry ski
      backcountry snowboard
      backpacking
      Bear Creek Spire
      Berner Oberland
      Bernese Oberland
      Bishop
      Bishop Skyline
      Blacksmith Peak
      Breakthrough
      Bridgeport
      California
      California fourteeners
      camping
      Cardinal Pinnacle
      Carson Peak
      Celestial Aretes
      Chamonix
      Chamonix climbing
      Charlotte Dome
      chef
      classic rock climb
      classic Sierra rock
      climb
      climbing
      climbing camp
      climbing skills
      climbing Swiss Alps
      Clyde Minaret
      cook
      courses
      courses instruction
      crampon
      Crest tour
      Crystal Crag
      custom
      custom private ski
      Dana Plateau
      destinations
      Devil's Slide
      Dolomites
      Dolomites climbing
      Double Eagle Resort
      Dream Bowl
      East Buttress
      East Face
      Eastern Sierra climbing
      Eastern Sierra skiing
      Eastern Sierra Winter
      Eiger
      Evolution Loop
      exam
      fastpacking
      Fishhook Arete
      Four Seasons
      France
      Glass Creek
      Grindelwald
      guide course
      Haute Route
      heli assisted
      heli skiing
      Hemlock Ridge
      High Sierra
      High Sierra skiing
      high tour
      hiking
      Horse Creek
      horses
      Horsetail Falls
      Hut to Hut
      ice 101
      ice axe
      ice climbing
      ice climbing course
      Incredible Hulk
      instruction
      intermediate level
      international
      introductory
      introductory ice climbing course
      Italy
      John Muir Trail
      John Muir Wilderness
      June Lake
      June Mountain
      Jungfrau
      Kautz Glacier
      kids
      kids climbing programs
      Las Vegas
      lee vining
      Lee Vining area
      lee vining canyon
      level 1
      level 1 refresher
      level 2
      light and fast
      lightweight
      Lone Pine
      Lone Pine Peak
      Lovers Leap
      Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite
      Mammoth Mountain
      Mammoth to June
      Mammoth to Yosemite
      Matterhorn
      Matterhorn Peak
      Merriam Peak
      mixed climbing
      Monch
      Mont Blanc
      Mont Blanc run
      Mount Conness
      Mount Dana
      Mount Emerson
      Mount Humphreys
      Mount Rainier
      mountain running
      mountaineering
      Mountaineers Route
      Mt Conness
      Mt. Dana
      Mt. Emerson
      Mt. Humphreys
      Mt. Russell
      Mt. Sill
      Mt. Tom
      Mt. Whitney
      Mt. Winchell
      mules
      multiday
      negatives
      Nevada
      North Palisade
      North Peak
      north ridge
      onion valley to mt. whitney
      Ortler
      Owens River Gorge
      pack outfit
      pack support
      packers
      palisades
      Palisades Glacier Camp
      peak descents
      Peter Croft
      Pine Creek
      Polemonium Peak
      porters
      Positive Vibrations
      private
      private custom
      professional development
      Red Dihedral
      red rock
      rescue skills
      Ritter Range
      rock
      rock 201
      rock climbing
      Rock Creek
      Sabre Ridge
      San Joaquin Ridge
      Sawtooths
      self arrest
      self belay
      self rescue
      Sequoia National Park
      sherpas
      Sierra
      Sierra 5.10
      sierra alpine
      Sierra Mountain Guides
      Sierra Nevada
      Sierra skiing
      single pitch instructor
      ski
      ski guiding
      ski tour
      skiing
      snow
      snow skills
      snowboard
      SPI
      splitboard
      sport
      sport climbing
      Starlight Peak
      supported
      Switzerland
      Tahoe
      Temple Crag
      third pillar
      Thompson Pass
      Thunderbolt Peak
      Tioga
      trad climbing
      trail running
      traverse
      Tuolumne
      Twin Lakes
      Ultra Trail Mont Blanc
      ultralight
      Valdez
      Via Ferrata
      white line
      wilderness trip
      winter
      Yosemite
      yosemite national park
      Yosemite ski
      Yost Meadow
      Zermatt
      Zermatt Valley

    TRIP ITINERARY

    Rock Creek to Mammoth Ski Mountaineering Crest Tour

    DAY 1

    Meet for equipment check and final packing in the morning in Mammoth Lakes. 5 miles to Mosquito Flat Hut and then off for a warm-up ski tour in the vicinity.

    DAY 2

    Breakfast at the hut and tour up the beautiful Rock Creek drainage. Surmount Cox Col on the shoulder of Bear Creek Spire to access camp on the west side of the Sierra Crest.

    DAY 3

    From here we will pick a ski objective based on the group and conditions. We could go to Bear Creek Spire or Mt. Abbot for a steep, rocky summit and ski down, or something on the Mono Divide, like Mount Gabb which has challenging steep skiing lines on its North and South faces. Over Gabbot Pass and down to Upper Mills Creek Lake for the evening.

    DAY 4

    Ascend steep slopes in boots and crampons toward an elusive passage we discovered which leads to the north side of Mount Mills. We then ski the grand North Face of Mount Mills from a high point and descend the upper 4th Recess to a col that allows us to access the 3rd Recess. If conditions are good we may stay and ski some steeper lines in the 3rd Recess. Otherwise we will descend the beautiful drainage all the way into the trees in Mono Creek and up the other side into Hopkins Creek. Camp at Upper Hopkins Lakes.

    DAY 5

    Early start and ascend north to Hopkins Pass. This is a very cool place to be on skis. The north slope drops us to the base of the Southeast Face of Red and White Mountain, one of the finest ski peaks in the Sierra. If conditions are right we will ski from the summit down the face, pick up our gear and descend to camp near Big McGee Lake.

    DAY 6

    Upper McGee Creek is a ski mountaineering paradise. We can ski another line on Red and White or ski countless other beautiful features in the colorful rock of the area. The south face of Red Slate Mountain is a steep and proud line that does not get skied very often. Return to camp.

    DAY 7

    Between McGee Creek and Convict Creek there is a wild passage that was built for ski travel we follow this weakness, dubbed "Corridor Pass" easily to Constance Lake where we drop extra weight and prepare to ski a line on the crown jewel of the northern High Sierra - Red Slate Mountain. The Red Slate Couloir from the summit is the ski mountaineering pinnacle of achievement for most diehard Sierra skiers. If you are up for it and conditions are perfect, we'll go there. Otherwise, we will look at the Northwest Face or another line. After the ski we will follow a series of drainages and lakes northward toward Lake Genevieve to camp.

    DAY 8

    The final day is spectacular and has a few different options. The ideal option for most will be to ascend to the Bloody-Laurel Col and drop into the Laurel Lakes Basin. From there we can stage an ascent of the north side of Bloody Mountain to access the Bloody Couloir. Descend this classic Mammoth big line and ultimately descend to the Sherwin Creek Road in Mammoth. An alternative is to descend Convict Canyon and possibly ski a line on Mount Laurel or Mount Baldwin on the way.