Mammoth Lakes Basin Skiing

Yesterday I headed up bright and early for a ski tour in the Mammoth Lakes Basin. The day's forecast was for cold temps, light winds, and increasing snow showers. I was looking forward to a wintery day in the mountains.

I again grabbed my new Voile skis with scales since the approach is long and I didn't expect any steep or demanding skiing. On the way to the Coldwater Creek trailhead I decided to follow the summer trail to the historic Mammoth Consolidated Mining site which had been nicely packed by snowshoers. Good fun on the new skis, but would have been tedious with skins on.

Along the way I was afforded this great view of the Mammoth Crest from Blue Crag (left) to the TJ bowl area (right).

The mining area.

Beautiful Blue Crag

I wound my up to the little col on the skyline here.

Nice views from the col. SE towards Duck Pass (far left).

Looking NW down into the Lakes Basin with Lake Mary on the right. The skiing down the open bowls was fair on wind affected snow. The flat light and variable conditions kept me on my toes.

 Here in the trees the skiing was much better. Zippin' through the forest was a total hoot!

A fine tour. Obstacles are very much an issue. Especially up at treeline and above. The new skis suffered a little today. Fortunately no damage to the old body!