Mt.Tom, South Slopes

After chasing powder the last few weeks with mixed success, I figured it was time to look for some good corn skiing. I've had my eyes on the south slopes of Mt. Tom for a few years and this weekend seemed like a good time to give them a try.

Here's a pic I took this February of Mt. Tom with the big slopes visible on the left shoulder.
The approach to the slopes involves a fairly long hike on an old mining road from the Horton Lakes trailhead. The views along the way were nice though.

This nice peak is commonly referred to as "Four Gables" although the official summit is actually the bluff to the left of it.
The north side of Basin Mountain holds several fine, but seldom visited chutes.
These are the slopes on the shoulder of Mt. Tom. In a bit of typical Sierra trickery, they are much larger than they appear. The top of the right hand run is a solid 3,500' above the point where this photo was taken.
On the hike up I caught up to a group of skiers who turned out to be some friends from the Bishop area. Here they are scaling the slope with Basin Mountain behind.
I reached the ridge at the top of the slopes with one of the guys from the party I caught, and was pretty impressed with the sweeping views.

This is the view to the northwest with the fine peaks of Bear Creek Spire, Dade, Abbot and Mills on the center left skyline and Pine Creek a long long way below.
Another look back at Basin Mountain (left) with Mt. Humphries poking up just right of center.
The summit of Mt. Tom was still close to 1,500' above us.
This is the view to the "real" Four Gables (left of center) and the "other" one (right of center) with a very attractive chute.
Distant views of Feather Peak and Mt Julius Caesar.
The corn on the due south facing slopes was perfect at around noon. The southeast facing slopes were a bit soft, and southwest still a bit firm.
Very nice skiing!
These are big slopes with a steady, moderate pitch. Highly recommended for a pleasing day of corn cruising!