Patchskiing TRs - Spring, Summer, and Autumn Stoke - 2017

[Stev]

The Nipple, "B-Cup Chute" July 2, 2017

I returned to the "B-Cup Chute" with my friend MJ since it skied so well four days earlier (and Blue Lakes Road was still closed at the fourth gate.)

MJ in front of a triple waterfall on our approach.

We started with a few warm-up runs on the upper ridge.
MJ starts on the upper ridge...

Stev on the upper ridge.

MJ on the "B-Cup Chute"

Stev on the "B-Cup Chute"

Stev slarving down our exit path, which also seemed to be an avalanche path based on bent and cleared trees along with areas of debris-like snow.

It was well worth a return trip to this magical place.

 

[JFB]

It was a nice 70 degree day on Tamarack today. The photo is looking down Broken Glass Bowl on the northern aspect. The snow was slightly cupped but the surface was soft enough to smear over them for a very nice run. It skied very nicely until the more serious cups at the bottom. I got a second lap in Hourglass and the cups were a bit deeper but it was still a nice ride.

 

[Stev]

Sweetwater Mountains, July 4, 2017

My wife Michele and I celebrated Independence Day with our dogs Makisha and Penny by making a dusk patrol recon mission in the Sweetwater Mountains.

Looking up at the zig-zag snowpatch up on the unnamed 10,452 ft. peak with the moon in the background. This patch provided around 700 feet of vertical.

Tree roots near the top that must be worth 500 GNARL points for my wife Michele.

Makisha leaps with excitement about Stev starting to ski.

Penny, Makisha, and Stev heading down with Lobdell Lake in the background.

Stev skiing above Lobdell Lake.

Penny, Makisha, and Stev skiing off into the sunset.

Stev skiing down with Lobdell Lake in the background.

A successful recon mission that was fun for all.

 

[Mothertucker]

Lobdell used to have grayling in it, may be all Kamloops rainbows now.

 

[Stev]

Monitor Pass, July 7, 2017

While hiking around Monitor Pass with our dogs the previous afternoon we were surprised to find a slightly hidden snowpatch. So we returned the next evening.
A leftover snow patch on a ridge below Leviathan Peak.

Penny.

Stev skiing below the Leviathan Peak Fire Lookout.

Stev skis by while an insect does a fly by.

A self-timer photo.

It was a pleasant surprise to find enough snow to ski Monitor Pass in July.

 

[Stev]

Forestdale Patches, July 9, 2017

When I did a recon mission on some of the Forestdale Patches on June 30th I noticed that there were many other patches available to ski. So I returned with my friend MJ to explore some more. We were able to park in the first little lot above Forestdale Creek and then we headed up between the Left Patch and the Left of the Left Patch. When we reached the top we saw that the backside of Forestdale Divide was still holding a lot of snow.

Stev skiing a backside patch near Forestdale Divide.

MJ

Stev skiing another run on a backside patch near Forestdale Divide with "Forestdale Peak" in the background.

MJ skiing the Left of the Left Patch.

Stev skiing down the gully.

MJ skiing down the gully below the Left of the Left Patch and the Left Patch.

A fantastic day. Since there are many more patches to ski up at Forestdale Divide, future return trips are certain.

 

[Tony]

This guy did surprisingly well connecting the first two patches, but may have picked up too much speed which led to a big crash before getting to the third patch

 

[Paul Lutes]

Rocks have more friction than snow?!?!?

Who knew?

 

[Stev]

The Nipple, July 11, 2017

Blue Lakes Road is open! (11 miles in instead of 7 miles in.) Time to enjoy the snow with Makisha and Penny on a recon dusk patrol skiing mission on The Nipple.

Makisha and Penny below The Nipple.

Makisha with Lower Blue Lake in the background.

Self-timer photo (1 of 3) Penny waiting patiently.

Self-timer photo (2 of 3) Makisha really wants us to get going.

Self-timer photo (3 of 3) Our third run can be seen in the background - the steep slope in front of my face.

A successful recon mission. Since the snow was great and there were plenty of other lines to ski, I would return here the next two days making this Part I of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy.

 

[Stev]

The Nipple, July 12, 2017 (Part II of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy)

Yesterday, The Nipple, July 11, 2017 (Part I of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy), the skiing was so good, and since more looked so good, I returned for more time on the snow with Makisha and Penny.

Looking up at the East Ridge of The Nipple.

Penny and Makisha near the top of The Nipple.

Self-timer photo. Penny waiting patiently.

Self-timer photo. Penny, Makisha, and Stev.

Here is a four minute long edit of our second run.

Since the snow was still great and there were plenty of other lines to ski, I would return here the next day.

 

[skibob]

The Nipple, July 12, 2017 (Part II of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy)

Yesterday, The Nipple, July 11, 2017 (Part I of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy), the skiing was so good, and since more looked so good, I returned for more time on the snow with Makisha and Penny.

Looking up at the East Ridge of The Nipple.

Penny and Makisha near the top of The Nipple.

Self-timer photo. Penny waiting patiently.

Self-timer photo. Penny, Makisha, and Stev.

Here is a four minute long edit of our second run.

Since the snow was still great and there were plenty of other lines to ski, I would return here the next day.

What a line for patch skiing. There are a lot of resorts that can't piece together a run like that!

 

[dbostedo]

"Stunt Dog" credits FTW!

 

[Stev]

^
skibob and dbostedo, thanks for the kind words.

 

[Stev]

Lost Lakes and The Nipple, July 13, 2017 (Part III of the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy)

Completing the three consecutive days skiing trilogy involved adding another skier, Spence, as well as another relatively nearby location, Lost Lakes.

Makisha watches Spence hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail below The Nipple.

Hiking further out would lead us to Lost Lakes.
A panorama with Makisha and Penny chilling above Lost Lakes.

Stev, Makisha and Penny start on our first run of the day.

Spence on our first run of the day.

Makisha watches Spence bootpack up for our second run above Lost Lakes.

Spence skiing with Spence above Lost Lakes on this photomerge panorama (made from six images.)

Spence skiing above Lost Lakes (just one this time.)

Stev, Makisha and Penny above Lost Lakes.

Spence skiing on a ridge above Lost Lakes.

Next, we headed back and skied the "Boreal" patch.
Makisha and Penny following Spence on the "Boreal Patch" above Lower Blue Lake.

Penny, Makisha, and Stev starting down a Near East Ridge Run on The Nipple.

Spence spraying corn snow on a Near East Ridge Run on The Nipple...

...and skiing into the sunset...

It was a lot of fun completing the Three Consecutive Days at The Nipple Trilogy. There was smooth corn snow along with a great variety of ski runs to enjoy.

 

[Paul Lutes]

Now THAT is how to spend your summer!!

 

[nemesis256]

Now THAT is how to spend your summer!!

Seriously, so jealous. Although I suppose you weren't doing this for the last few summers. Even the winters of those years were probably worse than our New England ice.

 

[Stev]

Seriously, so jealous. Although I suppose you weren't doing this for the last few summers. Even the winters of those years were probably worse than our New England ice.

I have been doing this for many summers. I am up to 165 consecutive months skiing. This summer has been a lot of fun with more snow.

 

[nemesis256]

I have been doing this for many summers. I am up to 165 consecutive months skiing. This summer has been a lot of fun with more snow.

In that case I'm DEFINITELY jealous.

 

[TonyC]

I just got around to this thread. As a flatlander getting up in years with a 5-hour drive to Mammoth, the eastern Sierra backcountry is a conundrum for me. I brought AT gear just in case for both the Memorial and July 1-4 holidays this season, was not tempted to use it in either case. On Memorial weekend 60% of Mammoth's terrain was open and I skied over 30K on the first day with tseeb and my son Adam. I got worked hard and it was enough of a challenge to ski another 3 days riding lifts.

July 1-4 was after that big heat wave in the third week of June. Mammoth's skiing was good but only in skier-packed lines. Everything else had severe suncupping from the heat wave. A good example was the chair 5 terrain, all of which skied great July 1-4 in 2011 but was unpleasant this year unless you stuck to a couple of the skier-packed lines. So I concluded that similar elevation terrain like Virginia Lakes and Sonora Pass would not be worth it, and the pics posted in this thread of Sonora Pass show quite deep suncups. That said, the video of B-Cup Chute looked excellent, so maybe the heat wave was less severe north of Sonora Pass.

The other way to get better backcountry snow is to go higher, ascending at least partway up Mt. Dana from Tioga Pass. Unfortunately if you live at sea level and try to do that after only a couple of days at Mammoth it's pretty tough for most of us. I did it with a guide in 2003 and was too slow to get to the desired ski objectives before the snow got too soft and unstable. My son Adam and friend Ben did on Jul. 3, 2011, detail TR and pics here: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9741 . Ben and Adam were 28 and 31 at the time and are elite level skiers in steep technical terrain. Here's the reality check for us flatlanders, posted by Adam:

"The final pitch was more difficult than I expected. Around 12,000' both Ben and I seemed to hit the wall. He'd been in Mammoth for 3 nights, I'd been there for 2, but we still were not sufficiently acclimated. Or perhaps more accurately, our combination of acclimation and conditioning were not sufficient. Progress slowed down significantly, and I reached the top of the snow field about 12:45. Ben was still a good ways behind me, so I rested, drank water, and snacked on beef jerky. I also walked over to the top of the Solstice couloir to inspect the entrance. Unfortunately I left the GoPro in my backpack so I don't have any pictures. I had plenty of time to inspect the entrance with Ben still hiking, however. While the skiers-left section of the cornice had indeed fallen, it was still a steep (shear) 4 feet in, with a subsequent traverse to get out from above rock exposure. It was an entrance I'd have no second thoughts about on a normal resort day, but in the backcountry (with consequences elevated) and my fatigue from the hike, I wasn't gung-ho on the idea. It turned out that Ben was even more tired than I, as he stopped skinning about 200 feet below me. So the decision was made to play it safe and ski what we'd hiked. Solstice will have to wait for another time."

"And now for the not-so-flattering dark side of the day's adventures. I managed to let myself get severely dehydrated over the course of the day. I made an effort to drink plenty of water, and had been snacking on salty beef jerky, but that wasn't enough. During the final hike down and across the meadow (with skis+boots on the pack) I got nauseous and vomited. I felt better immediately, and assumed that I had simply pushed myself too hard physically. We weren't far from the car, and I was feeling tired but much better by the time we got there. I drank a bunch more water while resting and loading up to head down the pass. But within 10-15 minutes drive, I got nauseous again and had to pull over and vomit. So now I'd lost all the water I'd consumed for at least the previous hour or so, and wasn't feeling so hot. Ben drove the rest of the way back to Mammoth, and I laid down to rest for an hour. My resting heart-rate at this point was 100 bpm, which is apparently right on the border of go-straight-to-the-hospital territory. We knew that if I couldn't keep any fluids down soon, I'd need to get an IV. Luckily, I was able to drink a liter of pedialyte that dad brought over, and recovered."

So the conundrum for me is that lift served snow at Mammoth is consistently equal to and often better than what's realistically accessible in the backcountry. So much so that when I decided to ski year-round in 2011 I skinned and skied within the Mammoth ski area on Aug. 31/Sep. 1. http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9760 Why? Because it was a half hour hike approach to 1,100 vertical of near-continuous skinning/skiing. I drove up Tioga to inspect options from Saddlebag Lake, saw tracks in the distance. But it would have been a 5x longer approach at higher altitude for half as much skiing.

Kudos to Stev for his ski streak and backcountry trips. Those dogs have great life for sure. In June 2013 Liz and I skied probably the same Gardiner Headwall where Stev skied with much more snow June 17: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11013 . That's my kind of patch skiing: road accessible, hike out less vertical than the ski in with a short hitch back to where we started!

 

[Stev]

Relay Peak Road Patches, July 19, 2017

On July 19th Spence and I found some relatively easy access snow patches above and below the Relay Peak Road. It only took 25 minutes to get to the snow from the Mt. Rose Highway Summit.

We skied two different lines. The first offered some separated patches above the road that nearly connected with a longer patch below the road. We were able to leave our skis on to sidestep down to the next patch.

Spence heading down the lower portion of our first run.

Stev on the lower portion of our first run.

Stev bootpacking back up.

On our way back the next line offered a longer continuous upper patch with more than the width of the road separating it from the lower patch. We did have to take our skis off between the upper and lower patches here.

Stev starting down our third run with Chickadee Ridge in the background.

Spence angling down.

Spence about to weave through a little glade.

We easily found quality snow as well as a place to return to in the future.