Skiing in Ely

 The long dry spell continued well into mid February, but I was still hopeful I could find decent skiing near Ely.

 On previous tours I had noticed enticing open slopes and glades far up Berry Creek. I hoped for good coverage and nice facet skiing there, but it would require quite the long slog to get there.

 Why not? Better than not skiing!! Fortunately this Forest Service road provided easy travel.

This is the first line I ever skied in the Ely area back in 2022. Not today!

Alas my destination came into view.

I was a bit disappointed, but not surprised that the wide open slopes had a thin melt freeze crust. Interesting texture!

The snow in these glades, though, was terrific.

Obstacles were not much of a concern, so I could open up the throttle. Great fun. Took 2!

 Sure was nice to scratch that itch!!

 

I rested a few days then headed over to the east side of the Schell Creek Range. Some serious (for me!) 4wd got me to about 7600'. Where I found a semi-suitable spot to camp. 

The trail above camp was, mildly put, unpleasant. The downed trees were certainly a hassle, but worse were the teasing stretches of snow. I don't know how many times I thought "ah ok, now I'm on continuous snow" only to find another bare patch. Skis on, skis off. Repeat.
 

At around 8500' the trail disappeared at a stream crossing. I'm sure it was there. Somewhere! I elected to follow a bear track up and out of the drainage. It proved to be a good move. The snow cover was continuous. The terrain manageable.

Soon I arrived at this jewel. Was really tempted, but my goal was to get up into the alpine so I let it pass. 

About 15 minutes later I was richly rewarded!

The clouds rolled in.

Then rolled back out. I skied from the lowest rocks center. Higher was predominately breakable wind crust. The run wasn't fantastic. Best lower, but the setting was unreal. Dreamy!

A memorable day for sure!!

A Trip to the Eastern Sierra

 Catching up. Again!

Early February I took a trip back to Bishop. Skiing! 

 First up was a tour in the South Fork of Bishop Creek. Most popular zones had been skied pretty heavily, but I seldom see tracks up in this place.

 After some slow, difficult skinning down low in thin, hollow facets, the trailbreaking improved here.

The views opened up as I got higher.

Someone else's tracks! Still lots of room for me though

These glades skied especially well

Love this zone!

 Next up was a tour with my buddy Chris. Also up the South Fork, but this time on the west side of the canyon. This area was more wind and sun affected, but travel was relatively easy.

Looking over to the Green Lake/Brown Lake region. Cloudripper Peak on the right.

 Good skiing in protected areas.

Some quality bushwhacking too!

We had a lot of laughs! 

The weather warmed while I was there, so by the end of the trip I decided to look for corn on south aspects. The backside of Mammoth Mountain was my choice. 

A good choice too! I found fun skiing here. Old tracks here and there, but largely avoidable.

 

I also skied lifts. Two days at June and one at Mammoth (here). 

 

Nice to see a healthy snowpack here. Skiing!!

Berry Creek Camp and Ski

 This week I packed up my truck camper for a couple of days skiing up Berry Creek. This area is not out of the question as a day trip from Ely, but doing the drive two days in a row would seem tedious. Plus it was a good trial run for bigger/longer trips in the future.

 I chose to ski a line I had done previously on my first ski trip out to Ely in 2022. click here. First I skinned up a beautiful, shady trail/road next to the creek. Thin though with lots of fallen trees to cross.

After a bit the views open now and then.

The skinning was not easy in the bottom part of the drainage.

Eventually the terrain opens up.

On my last visit I slogged up the headwall and while the views were great up there, it seemed like a lot of work for only a few extra turns. This trip I spied some pleasant glades leading up to a ridge looker's left.

As I gained the ridge this old giant greeted me. 

The skiing through the forest was fantastic - as it was below in this low angle meadow.

Afternoon views from camp. 

That night I weighted my options and decided to use my skin track and check out a nice couloir that descended from the ridge I attained.

Full disclosure. Not all of the skiing was peaches and cream. Exiting the drainage was full on jungle skiing on poor coverage. Ski carefully! 

Higher up, though, was pure bliss. Yesterday's handiwork with a glimpse of the glades upper right.

In the wide opening beneath the glades were a series of bare rock patches. Puzzling. The snow was a good two feet deep around them. Certainly didn't seem wind scoured. They weren't springs. The rocks were dry. Stumped!

Conveniently, there was a good, safe entrance to the couloir from yesterday's high point. The upper section was fairly steep with a choke below, but once through that, it opened up and eased off. I could relax and take a few photos!

South Schell Peak

 

The view back up.

Zoomed in.

 The choke was indeed spicy requiring some careful billgoating, but the skiing was very nice above and below it. As a bonus, the exit did not require any jungle skiing and was pleasant all the way to the trail.

Good times for sure! 

Ski Season Begins!

 Here in Ely we didn't get that "big dump" like the Sierra did which instantly started their season. Instead we got a series of small storms. Each adding inches. Until, finally, there was enough to ski. 

 Below 9000' there's only a few inches on the ground, so the approaches can be unpleasant, the exits downright dangerous. Higher it's still low tide, but the snow is good and the scenery is your typical winter beauty.

Last week the temperatures were cold. Perfect for hoar development along the creek. Winter beauty for sure! 

For the first tour of the season I headed into the Schell Creek Range and opted for mellow, open slopes.

It was cold. Snow was good. Morale high.

Coverage was decent. Better high up. Down here I hit bushes, branches, and one rock. 

Darn happy to be on skis, in the mountains!

 

I took a day off, then went back to the same drainage. Last year I "discovered" the Aspens there. A magical zone with fun skiing. Figured it was time for another visit.

The skiing was phenomenal in here. Lighter and deeper than my first tour.

Looking up canyon. More terrific ski terrain!

This one's taken from my high point at 10600'. A touch wind affected here and there, but easy to read.

 Glorious! Bumped wood pretty often, so had to keep the speed down, but that hardly dampened the joy.