Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become forevermore a human juggernaut! With respect to alpine rock climbing, the Sierra Nevada gets more and more amazing every year. Perhaps nowhere more so than the Sawtooth Range. In 1970, a grade V 5.8 A3 route was completed on a prominent pinnacle on the northeast ridge of Eocene Peak. With its unusual scale and attitude, the wall came …
Record Breaking Mountain Feats and the Art of Keeping It Real
Being a self-described mountain pundit is not easy. It takes a deep commitment to reading the shameless spray of countless bloggers, the perseverance to wade through outdoor reportage by experts and dilettantes, trying to discern between the two, and the excruciating suffering and agony of sitting in a chair to read and write for hours at a time on a sunny day. It’s blood sweat and tears, for sure. But we all need rest days, more of them as we get …
Alpine Conditions Report – July 8, 2015
Hi Sierra Nevada aficionados and enthusiasts, Quick update to our last report on July 1, as things in the high country are changing quite rapidly. As we have been reporting, the Sierra remains in a steady stream of daily thunderstorm activity from monsoonal air flow and warm, moist air rising that condenses clouds, resulting in precipitation and electrical activity. Precipitation has been in the form of intense short or, in some cases, up to a couple sustained hours of rain …
Alpine Conditions Report – July 1, 2015
Howdy mountaineers and high country enthusiasts, Hope you are all enjoying summer at this point. We are! After the driest winter on record, the High Sierra experienced one of the wettest calendar months ever. The town of Bishop hit May records for amount of rainfall and consecutive days with precipitation. In June, mountain weather has remained somewhat unusual with daily high temperatures spanning more than 30 degrees F in many locations. In Bishop, 17 days have hit highs in the …
Alpine Conditions Report – June 6, 2015
Howdy Mountain People! Happy almost summer, as it may be. Certainly isn’t acting like summer. But 2015 is a year for weather extremes. After the biggest drought year ever recorded in the Sierra Nevada, somehow May was the wettest ever recorded in Bishop. The forecast is for more of the same lingering low pressure, with another 1+” of H2O projected over the next week with thunderstorms. The high country is currently in alpine form. Snow in couloirs ranges from styrofoam neve …
Alpine Conditions Report – May 8, 2015
Crazy year. After the biggest drought on record in California, we enter late spring with a series of storms, the last two of which are the biggest of the year to date. This weather is wackbards! It’s supposed to be high and dry in the summer/fall and stormy in the winter/spring. That’s what all of us high mountain lovers have come to expect and appreciate. The situation is out of sync, like a mountain guide trying to dance to 90’s …
Alpine Conditions Report – April 18, 2015
Hi everyone, Welcome to the High Sierra Alpine Conditions Report! This is the first one of 2015, transitioning early from the Backcountry Snow Report for skiers and snowboarders which we will not be updating further this season, courtesy of “the big dry” (the biggest drought on record in California). The drought is a bane for almost everyone, and we should all be a lot more concerned than we seem to be, but it does represent a boon for alpine …
State of the High Sierra Backcountry – March 24, 2015
I know it’s been a long hiatus from this report skiers and snowboarders, but we wanted to keep the pictures up as long as possible from the epic 2 days of backcountry powder skiing we had reported on at the end of February. Plus, there just hasn’t been that much to report. I presented “Skiing the California Drought & The State of the Backcountry 2015” in Mammoth Lakes this weekend at an event hosted by Community Skis and will post slides …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – March 24, 2015 (End of Season)
Hi there ice climbers!, Happy spring. The end of another Eastside ice season is nigh. It’s been an interesting one, with lots of warm temps and falling ice, but it always provided just enough fun, with reasonable access conditions. It is nice to re-affirm that even in such a warm climate, the Eastern Sierra still hosts the most reliable winter ice climbing on the west coast. Though temps have cooled slightly in the past few days, spring has sprung and the …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – February 25, 2015
Hi bc skiers and snowboarders, The pictures tell most of the story. Best worst winter ever! People are asking us about where to find the goods. It is a bit tricky at the moment but if you succeed then you will be welcomed to nirvana. Cold smoke and face shots are so cool and refreshing after an eternal indian summer. Here’s the secret: The snow is incredible between 10,000′ and 12’000′ where the terrain is sheltered from the wind, shaded …
Eastern Sierra Ice Report – February 25, 2015
Hi there ice climbers, We are finally having a return to winter! The high temperatures have dropped around 25 degrees F over the weekend and have remained cool at night since. We even have received some much needed snow. That means the ice is back to growing and solidifying instead of shrinking and delaminating. It also means the approaches are back to their least favorable state with a bit of slippery snow on talus. Horsetail Falls is still out of recommended …
Eastern Sierra Backcountry Snow Report – February 21, 2015
Howdy backcountry skiers and snowboarders! Since the atmospheric river weather event hit 2 weeks ago, the backcountry has been in excellent conditions. This is definitely a good news-bad news scenario though. The coverage below 10,000′ and on sunny aspects at all elevations is sparse, but what we have is very supportable and skis well. The storm finished colder leaving a skiff of snow on top of rain crust and densely packed storm snow. Warm days with unusually high temperatures and …