Turns from the House

Walking our dog Bristle in the cold mornings I noticed the snow had set up perfectly for skiing with a stout base underneath an inch or two of fluff. I decided to chance it and take the backcountry skis for a spin.

Initially I had my eye on this fine line.

It proved too rocky, but this little slope seemed like it might work. From the top I wasn't too optimistic.

 The run exceeded all expectations! From the bottom. Looks nuts but skied great.

and from afar.

Took two in there. Never tapped a rock. Never broke the crust. Just a bunch of giggles.
Had a super fun run down the 4x4 road too.

The views were killer.

My little berg in winter splendor.

It's not always the deepest powder or the gnarliest runs that are the best. This one was all time!!!

Down Low Down South

With incredible snow coverage down near the valley floor Ben and I decided to go south and go low.

The Onion Valley road is plowed to Foothill Road and there is a driveable track about a half mile past that. The County is digging out and I would imagine it will be good to go to Gray's Meadow Campground by the weekend.

Olive patiently waited while Ben and I geared up.

Olive surveys the valley.

Ben breaks trail towards our destination. We ended up taking one run down the big open slope on the right and another through the trees and glades just left.

Made it up to a little knoll with big views.

Olive ponders the steep lines north of the knoll. Not today Olive!

Ben and Olive enjoy the nice powder in the trees.

The big bowl skied really well too.

We skinned up in the sun gloveless, in t-shirts, but once the sun went down the temperature immediately plummeted. Winter!

Good times. Great zone.

Snow in Bishop!

Yesterday we awoke to about 7" of new snow, winds steady at 20+ mph, gusting to 40 mph and it kept snowing and blowing all day and by late afternoon we accumulated another few inches. 

After shoveling for a good bit I decided to strap on the backcountry gear and head up from the house to see if I could make a few turns.

My timing was poor however. The snow turned to a mix of rain and a little sleet while the winds cranked up. I did manage a few squiggles up high, but generally the snow was too dense and the slope to shallow for turns. Soaked but stoked I headed home.

Pretty! Worth getting out for sure.

This morning dawned in dramatic fashion. Took a little walk with Mary & Bristle.

Our little street.

Home sweet home.

After another healthy dose of shoveling I whipped out the cross country skis and headed back up the hill following yesterday's tracks.

Super pretty out.

There are several dirt roads up above us that are perfect for XC trails.

Looking down to our neighborhood and across the big valley.

Superb conditions for the skinny stick!

Around two o'clock the storm put in one last effort and we once again enjoyed flakes in the air.
About that time our kind neighbor Pete came by and plowed the driveway. Bonus!

Glad we weren't living in Mammoth.
A friend of mine was dealing with this.

A real winter's worth of snow in just two weeks!!!

Old Man's Bowl

Today Ben, Ann and their lively dog Olive skied Old Man's Bowl above Convict lake. Snow coverage and quality are amazing and lots of folks have been out taking advantage of the conditions.

Looking down at Convict Lake and over to the dramatic East Face of Laurel Mountain.

 One nice thing about all the folks out is that there's no need to break trail! Ben and Olive near the top.

Family portrait.

The enormous North Face of Mount Morrison seemed like a stone's throw away.

Ben enjoys the fine powder snow in the upper bowl.

As does Olive!

Ben finds a little more deep snow on the way back.

Just another spectacular day!!

Table Mountain

Anne, Rick and I headed up Table Mountain above Aspendell.

We elected to ski this picturesque run before heading to the top.
Before

After

 Big views on the way up.

Big smiles on the way down.

Quite nice!

Habeggar's

It's been a few years since there's been enough snow to ski up in Habeggar's.

Clearing storm made for great moody light.

Ben lets Olive break trail for a bit.

A view back over to Table Mountain.

The skiing was superb.

By the end of the day the skies cleared allowing for amazing, vibrant views.

Hard to imagine a better first tour of the year!

Trail Trot to Blue Lake

There was more than a touch of fall was in the air as Mary, Bristle and I made our way up to Blue Lake. I ran up and met Mary and Bristle at the lake.

I ran around taking pics before they showed up.

It was way too cold for wet bathing, but sun bathing was pleasant on the flat rock here in this pic.

Heading down we had fine views of the Paiute Crags.

Down down down toward Lake Sabrina.

The change in the weather was invigorating and the magnificent scenery was inspiring. So grand!