Heap of the Week

Without any ski tours, bike rides, or hiking forays to blog about, I decided I could keep things "fresh" with a new feature: The Heap of the Week!

I realize not everyone will appreciate these, but I could not resist. There are numerous incredible heaps in and around Keeler, so I'll try to share one a week.

Don't forget to click to enlarge!





Stay tuned!

Brown Lake Chutes

On Monday morning the snow reports from the ski area and the snow sensors reported upwards of 18" of new snow, so I asked my boss for Tuesday morning off. Fortunately my boss is good natured and gave me the ok.

I headed back up to Brown Lake to ski the chutes that rise above the lake.

The South Lake Road is still bermed off just past the Tyee trailhead. The crew is working on widening the cleared path above that. I would think it will be open to Parcher's next weekend.

The temps at the parking spot were cold! No Sierra cement today.
Just as I reached the top of the Parcher's slope, I had the great pleasure of spying this Ptarmigan in the snow. I figured THAT was a good omen.
The objective(s) for the day came into view.
I ended up skiing the lookers right chute first. This is the view in the throat.
I didn't take any other photos on the way down. Hey, I was skiing!!

The snow in the right chute was great with a little wind affect high and a foot of fluff in the chute itself. Thank you sir may I have another! I headed back up to ski the left chute.
The left chute was a bit more wind affected, but still skied well.A fine morning's work.The Parcher's slope wasn't bad either, especially the upper half, where there was enough new snow that I wasn't hitting the crust beneath.
What a day!

Brown Lake/Green Lake Ski

Steve and I hooked up yesterday and decided to look for powder/winter snow up the Brown Lake/Green Lake drainage above the Parcher's Resort in the South Fork of Bishop Creek (a mouthful!).

The road is currently plowed all the way to Parcher's, but the road crew hasn't finished clearing the road or making room for parking there, so the road is bermed off just beyond the Tyee trailhead (see Friday's blog).

An easy twenty minute walk got us to Parcher's and this view of the windy ridge above.
The Parcher's slope has good coverage and is well on its way to cooking down to corn. This is the view across canyon to the ridge I attained on Friday.
Nearing Brown Lake these fine slopes come into view. We eventually skied the bowl to the left after climbing up from the other side.
The winds were an issue all day, but thankfully they were intermittent and much of our route was out of their direct impact.
Above Green Lake the drainage ends at this dramatic cirque.
Steve makes his way up into the cirque with The Hunchback on the skyline behind.
The chute to the right here demanded our attention - and got it!

The lichen on the rock outcrops was striking fluorescent yellow.
At the top of the chute was this amazing, sheltered alcove. Beyond the notch the winds were nuking, creating a jet engine like roar.
We briefly braved the winds to admire the views. Here's Mt. Aggasiz (left back) and Picture Puzzle Peak (front right).
And the sweeping Sierra Crest from Mt. Goode on the left to Skier's Peak on the right (remember to click to enlarge).
The chute was ready to be skied.
Good, soft snow provided grin producing skiing. Tele lives!
All the way down to the bottom of the apron.
We then climbed a short ridge to the top of the bowl southeast of Green Lake. More great views greeted us there with "Fool's Peak" far left (see last week's blog), the sharp horn of Mt. Humphries and the huge mass of Mt. Tom on the right.
Soft snow was found in the bowl too.
And, like Friday, the best snow was found low down, just above Green Lake.
The Parcher's slope was still firm, but smooth and supportable, so the skiing was tolerable there.

All in all we had quite a lot of fun in the mountains this day!

Tyee Lakes

I headed up the South Fork of Bishop Creek on a little recon trip. First of all to get a feel for snow conditions after last weeks dump and the subsequent warm up. Secondly, to see how far up the road crew has plowed the road.

The road is plowed all the way to the Tyee Lakes trailhead, and it will likely only be a matter of days until it's opened to Parchers.

After some funky skinning through steep benches and thick forest, the views began to open up.
The corn run above the first lake may be close to ready, but I decided to look for powder instead.
Looking westward, up canyon, are these fine peaks which lie at the northern end of the Thompson Ridge.
I eventually found my way onto the high ridge separating the Tyee Lakes drainage from the South Fork drainage. Straight down this gully is the South Lake Dam (click to enlarge) with the Inconsolable Range on the sky line.
I enjoyed fine views of Hurd Peak (front left) and Mount Goode (center distant).
As well as Mounts Johnson (left) and Gilbert (far right) and the ever enticing Treasure Bowls.
Looking back down the South Fork of Bishop Creek, a nasty dusty haze hung in the Owens Valley.
Stark totem.
The skiing off the ridge was a bit wind affected here and there, but not bad.
The north east facing slopes lower down were better.
I had a real good time, although I don't think I've solved the riddle of "do I ski corn or do I ski powder?"

Independence Peak Tree Skiing

The alarm went off at four this morning so that I would have plenty of time to enjoy the cold spring powder from this latest storm.

The Onion Valley Road above Independence had been plowed nearly to the trailhead before the storm, but the new snow drifted to nearly a foot deep on this turn, so I parked the truck and started skinning.
Here's the early morning view of Independence Peak. I ended up skiing the large grove of trees just left of center.
The snow in the main chute was a bit wind affected and higher up I could see the small chunks of recent avalanche debris, so I decided to head into the trees where the snow was soft & light and the avalanche danger was lower.
There were several fine old gentlemen growing in the glades.The skiing was outstanding here.
And actually not too bad down here either.
After two great runs in the trees and a fun, quick exit out the bottom I was ready for anything at work!

Oh, and FYI, by the time I was skiing out, the road had already been plowed well above where I parked. The sun will probably have wrecked some of the exposed snow later today, but north facing shady slopes should be fantastic skiing for a while. Get it!

Coke Chute

After finding good snow at high elevation on Friday, I figured we might find similar conditions further north out of Lee Vining on Saturday.

Anne, Steve and I skinned up the V-Chute in Lee Vining Canyon to find these views of the Dana Crest. The Third Pillar is the pointy crag just left of center.
And just around the corner, out objective for the day, the Coke Chute appeared.
We quickly realized our hopes for powder were blown away by the strong winds that occurred Friday night. The troops forged on regardless.
The upper slopes were smooth & supportable wind board which made for reasonable travel.
Big scenery!
We booted up the chute until we hit patches of icy old snow, we dropped the skis and made a short lived attempt to climb to the top. About a hundred feet up we found nothing but the icy old snow and without crampons the footing was poor. Here we are near the turnaround point.
The sky held a strange haze all day, and then the clouds and winds rolled in. Mono Lake out in the distance.
The skiing on the firm wind board was tolerable, even kinda fun once the angle backed off a bit, but the best skiing was down in the V-Chute where the new snow had settled in the protected trees and gullies.

Here's Anne finding a little goodness.
Despite the dashed expectations for powder in the high chute, we managed to have a good time thanks to the grand scenery and a sense of humor.