Sky Meadows

Yesterday I hooked up with a couple of buddies and headed back up into the Mammoth Lakes Basin. It's where the snow is!

We toured up in the Sky Meadows area hoping to find good snow above/near treeline.

Ben and Forest skin up beneath Blue Crag.

Forest making the first turns from our high point. Wind affected and variable here, but better on the bottom half of the run.

Tree sculpture.

We skinned back up to a high ridge with good views towards the Hammil zone. Took a nice break here and soaked it in.

The tree skiing below was quite good.

Sure was nice spending the day with pals. Lots of smiles.
 

More Lakes Basin Skiing

Day before yesterday Mammoth Mountain reported 4" to 6" of new snow and an ESAC forecaster found up to 12" in the Lakes Basin, so I elected to visit a favorite zone below the Mammoth Crest.

The day started quite cold, but quickly felt warm with bright sun and no wind. Looking up to Hammil Col (center). Someone put in an impressive set of turns on the large face to the right. High speed affair with about four turns over 1000'.

Pretty morning.

The top 500' or so of the crest looked pretty wind wracked. North winds really cranked after the frontal passage.

No wind affect here. Somehow I always forget how far back this zone is. Lots of trailbreaking.

First run was a nice meadow skip. Snow depth was variable. Maybe 2" to 8" with an occasional scrape on the old surface.

Second run was better with more consistent depth.

Third run was in the trees. Best of all with locations hitting the reported 12" mark.

Sure is nice to see (and ski!) some fresh snow.

Novelty Skiing

Day before yesterday I hooked up with my buddy Jim and we skied some sweet open glades near June Lake. About 4" of new snow had fallen here making for fun skiing.

 Nothing novel here. Plain old good times.

Yesterday though, was definitely novelty skiing. The base of Bald Mountain left, Long Valley right and the Owens River at my feet.

Took a long approach attempting (and failing) to avoid private property.

Parked for eternity.

Alas I arrived at my objective. This area burned a few years ago, so I found it easier to hike the dirt on nice little deer paths.

Higher up the ribbon of snow widened to a open snow fields.

I reached a sub summit of Bald Mountain enjoying fine vistas and pleasant weather. Mammoth Mountain center.

Looking northwest.

The snow was perfect but a bit lumpy providing mostly enjoyable skiing.

Novelty skiing for sure!
 

Mammoth Lake Basin

 The first storm of 2022 rolled through night before last. Not much fell. The ski area reported 2" to 3", so I headed to the Mammoth Lakes Basin to see what I could see.

 The morning was glorious. Fresh snow blanketed everything. The air was cold, crisp, and crystal clear. Invigorating!

Skinning was relatively easy as I rose through open glades.

Views to Ship's Prow and Hammil Col.

Back to Crystal Crag (left) and Mammoth Mountain (right).

Blue Crag

Stoked to find good skiing. The best was new snow over old facets, but new snow over windboard skied well too. Took two runs up here.

Hit Lake Mary Ridge on the way out. Just dust on crust there. A quick skate across Lake Mary brought me to the exit.

Much better than I expected. Getting a little sticky late and low. Otherwise nice cold snow. Hope more is on the way.

Ely Skiing II

Having found good snow and plenty of coverage in the Schell Creek Range two days before, I decided to head back. This time I split off of my previous route and followed this snowmobile track up the North Fork of Berry Creek.

I followed the track to the trailhead and wilderness boundary then enjoyed serene skinning through gorgeous forest.

Eventually I arrived at this peaceful meadow near the base of an avalanche chute.

Near the bottom the path forms a narrow half pipe like feature. Animal track.

Higher the terrain opens up. My track.

The snow along the side here was terrific.

A good push got me to the top where I was greeted by terrific views. Across canyon to wide open glades. I skied the one on the right two days ago.

South Schell Peak

Southeast along the crest of the Schell Range

Looking down the line. Anticipation!

Superb skiing all the way down.  Money.

Next day I decided to drive out to Great Basin National Park to have a look at conditions there.

The road is plowed to Upper Lehman Campground where numerous lines fall from the high ridge.

Up the summer trail through the Mahogany forest.

The snow pack was decidedly thinner and more wind affected in this area.

Not a sight a skier wants to see.

Much better situation in the trees although still pretty shallow.

I was able to reach the broad ridge and enjoy the views out to the east.

The tree skiing was alright. Dense with lots of obstacles, but good snow. Openings lower skied pretty well.

Not so fun here. Had to take the skis off and even had to crawl at one point!

Worst bushwhack of the year. Worst ski of the trip. Still a nice outing.

Last tour of the trip. I was torn on where to go. It was really tempting to head back to the zone in the Schell Creek Range where the skiing was great, but I wanted to see some new scenery and the coverage in Baker Creek at GBNP looked pretty good, so that's where I went.

I got going early. Elk and a weird regional haze likely from dust storms.

Early morning light on the peaks.

I was most pleasantly surprised to find the Baker Creek Road plowed clear to the end at 8,000'. Also stoked to find a deeper snowpack and wide open slopes at the trailhead.

 About three miles up this attractive run came into view. Time to climb.

This strip next to the trees skied well on the descent.

Higher up the wind affect became more significant. As the slopes steepened and the snow pack thinned I turned around. 

Views across canyon. Wheeler Peak, the high point in GBNP and the second highest in Nevada, is back right.

By sticking to the sculpted snow I picked my way down the upper slopes then enjoyed real fun skiing lower. Zipping out the summer trail was a hoot too with some playful turns on the open slopes above the trailhead.

And so it ended. Six days of skiing, three mountain ranges, two minor summits and a ton of smiles. Solid gold.