Norman Clyde Glacier

Ben and I both have been wanting to ski up the South Fork of Big Pine Creek. Figured today would be as good a day as any! We decided to head up to the Norman Clyde Glacier and have a look at the northwest couloir on Norman Clyde Peak or Scimitar Pass.

Just beyond the summer trail the views of the Sierra crest open up. The snowy fin in back is Middle Palisade and the blocky summit to the right is Norman Clyde Peak.

Pretty soon we realized another party of two was ahead of us. Good luck for us since we did not have to break trail, but where were they headed?

Ben and Olive arrive at Willow Lake. The route up to the Middle Palisade glacier was ahead and left and our route was up the valley far right just in view.

Turns out the other party had the same plan as us. Felt a little funny following them up, but that was our original plan. Ben and Olive approach the toe of the glacier.

The couloir on Norman Clyde looked pretty good, but we didn't feel right following those guys up.

So we headed up the glacier to this other smaller but inviting couloir.

The other guys quickly became tiny dots. They're in the shade near far shade/sunlight line.

Ben did an awesome job booting up the couloir. Looks good in this pic, but for the most part we were wallowing in hip deep unconsolidated snow. Slow going and a ton of work!

Topping out was incredible!

Looking south.

and north.

Skiing was fair on a generally supportable, chalky crust. Olive got some face shots!

Pretty cruiser skiing on way out. Windboard was dependable. Found a little powder in the trees. A little manky in the sunny snow, but a surprisingly easy exit.

Spectacular day!

Topped it off with a beer and a burger at the brewery. Who should walk in but the other guys who were ahead of us! Good guys from the Tahoe area. Small world.

Armstrong Canyon

With all of the snow in the Southern Sierra I've been wanting to head down valley to ski some of the big routes down there. 

I wasn't too sure about conditions so I chose to tour up the moderate slopes of Armstrong Canyon.  It diagonals up and left in the prominent shadow.  

Leaving the truck and the cinder cones behind. It took about 40 minutes to drive up from Aberdeen on the 4wd road.

A twenty minute sagebrush hop got me to this tongue of snow. Thankfully it was well consolidated and continuous.

In short order the coverage was great.

After cruising up the gully for a good bit the views opened up.

Multicolored formation. Lots of mining in this zone once upon a time.

Mt. Perkins.

Armstrong Col. I skied to the base.

Several other nice lines in the area too.

Acres of windboard! Skied pretty well up high.

The view down into the valley from my turnaround spot.

The descent was a mixed bag. Got one good pitch of decent powder skiing in some trees, but was a little manky lower where the new snow was getting warm. Low down there wasn't much new snow and the skiing was pretty good again.

I plan on heading south again when things corn up a little more!

Aspendell Meadow

I took a quick trip up to Aspendell to check on conditions. This little zone has several short but fun lines.

Mini golf!

Most of the snow here was pretty wind affected, but managed to find some good skiing here.

The winds really cranked up!

Good skiing could be found in wind sheltered areas, but most open areas where new snow fell are likely pretty wind affected. 

Avalanche hazard is significant too as I found easy results on snowpack tests.

Click here for observation.

Gravel Again

Thought about skiing today but the forecast for very high winds in the mountains dissuaded me. 

The winds were also forecast to pick up in the valley, but the morning started calm so I headed south hoping to catch a nice tailwind once the winds materialized.

My trusty steed. Soon to be put out to pasture.

Rode from our house, down to Big Pine, then crossed over to the east side of the valley and headed down toward Tinemaha Reservoir.

I loved the views of the Sierra over the badlands.

Nice riding here at the base of the Inyo Mountains.

 Enjoyed the views riding across the dam too.

And right on schedule the south winds picked up and blew me home!
Fantastic ride.

Gravel Ride in the Valley

I had been off the bike for over a week and with the dearth of quality snow in the mountains I elected to get in the saddle and hit the gravel.

Dropped down onto the valley floor from our house.

 Then up the Owens River Road which rode nicely.

Wandered onto this little two track for a bit.

Found some actual gravel at the base of the White Mountains.

Got off the valley floor for some nice views.

Then made my way past the Buckley Ponds.

Another pretty stretch of valley dirt.

With some views of these stately Cottonwood trees.

Put the cherry on top with a little Chipmunk single track.

Spectacular day! Rode with shorts and short sleeves the last hour. Felt great to turn the pedals.

Red Mountain

I spent four days over the last weekend in an Avalanche 2 class offered by Sierra Mountain Guides. Great class! Howie Schwartz and Geoff Unger did a super job. 

Today Ben and I skied Red Mountain, near Toms Place. Acres and acres of avalanche debris!

From whence it came.

Skinning on the nearby firm windboard left not a track.

We continued on up to the summit.

Lots of great ski lines were seen. Mount Morgan North.

Patricia Peak in the foreground.

White Mountain.

 The Mount Morgan South massif.

We skied a line I've been eyeing for a while. Enjoyed good skiing in this pretty glade.

Still pretty decent here too, although we did encounter some funky crust up high.

Had to do a bit of traversing to get back around to the front of Red, but worth it.
Not much good snow around but this line was holding up pretty well.

Can't complain about a nice summit, good turns, and fantastic weather.
Thanks Ben!