After a cold, slow chairlift ride on J1 we stopped in at the lodge for some fortification. The coffee was a bit weak and the icing on the roll was a bit sweet, but they had they're desired effects!
The chutes in this cirque are known as "The Negatives". We ended up descending from the low point just left of center.
The standard approach is through "The Hourglass" which was firm windboard requiring either ski crampons or a short boot up.
This is Steve approaching the summit of San Joaquin Mountain. The dappled snow was beautiful and actually provided pleasant skiing on the descent.
The summit of San Joaquin Mountain provided excellent views of the Ritter Range. These are the Minarets with Shadow Lake in the left foreground.
This is the view south from near the summit with Two Teats (yes, it's real name, check the map!) framing Mammoth Mountain behind them.
The descent down the chute was gorgeous. The snow was a little grabby, but turns weren't hard. The lower slopes provided better skiing on faceted wind blown snow and, eventually, a corn like substance.
Here we are, back to June Mountain ski area. Despite the warm temps of late, the snow was really nice. If you like carving groomers you would have been quite happy.
We kinda decided to try this tour on a lark, but were super happy we did. The grand views from San Joaquin Mountain, the beautiful chute, and some good turns to boot put a smile on our faces!
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