11.09.08, Round Top, Carson Pass
11/15/08
3384
6
Lack of (1) snow in my neigborhood and (2) the desire to travel north last month nearly ended my streak. But luckily on Oct. 30th my snow radar homed in on a couple friendly patches near the NV/CA border just off HY80 that saved it all. Now it's November, and the weather is consistently cooler and we're seeing more precip in the Sierra Nevada mountains. What this means is there's enough snow to get in more than 5 turns!
Allyson, Brian, and I drove from Reno to Carson Pass this morning. Upon arrival, we found about 3-4 inches of new snow on top of last week's deposit. At the parking lot, I ran into John, a friend I met with Cass and Skip in Argentina back in August. Small world. John was with his brother, Pat. So the five of us decided to ski together. From the pass, we skied south, passing the west side of Elphant's Back as we made our way to Winnemucca Lake, below Round Top. Coverage was decent, some shrubs were visible in the snow, a few rocks here and there, and evidence of wind-affected snow. The initial part of the route from the pass to the lake was first flat, followed by a couple hundred feet or so of elevation loss. By the time we made it to the lake, visibility was Northwest-ish. We climbed to the northwest spur of Round Top, then up to 9700 ft., stopped for lunch, skied down to the lake, then climbed back to 9700 ft. for another run. Visibility was worse than the first run, but the snow was soft and boot-high in places. Some of us retraced our steps back to the car, and did not regret it! Great day.
Allyson, Brian, and I drove from Reno to Carson Pass this morning. Upon arrival, we found about 3-4 inches of new snow on top of last week's deposit. At the parking lot, I ran into John, a friend I met with Cass and Skip in Argentina back in August. Small world. John was with his brother, Pat. So the five of us decided to ski together. From the pass, we skied south, passing the west side of Elphant's Back as we made our way to Winnemucca Lake, below Round Top. Coverage was decent, some shrubs were visible in the snow, a few rocks here and there, and evidence of wind-affected snow. The initial part of the route from the pass to the lake was first flat, followed by a couple hundred feet or so of elevation loss. By the time we made it to the lake, visibility was Northwest-ish. We climbed to the northwest spur of Round Top, then up to 9700 ft., stopped for lunch, skied down to the lake, then climbed back to 9700 ft. for another run. Visibility was worse than the first run, but the snow was soft and boot-high in places. Some of us retraced our steps back to the car, and did not regret it! Great day.
Oh memories. Love the area just south of the Lake, really tech lines there. On the north side of the pass red lake peak has a ton of great big lines, that slide often from the top all the way to the road
Cool.
Nice terrain. Great photos, up to your usual standards.
Glad you kept your streak alive.
Also glad you and Ally are back in our neighborhood ;)
Nice terrain. Great photos, up to your usual standards.
Glad you kept your streak alive.
Also glad you and Ally are back in our neighborhood ;)
Tahoe, SoDo, Tacoma. They're all pretty close to home.
I second the Red Lakes Peak recco. Check out the runs on the NE side of the peak above Crater Lake (watch for wind slabs too!!).
Both Waterhouse peaks off Luther Pass get decent early snow which keeps well (N slope, 30 deg or so, big loose timber....stays fluffy).
Send me a PM if you want some other ideas.
You'll have no shortage of stuff to do. The ground cover is a little mellower and it seems to take less to get the season started. Just watch out for slivers of sierra granite in the base.
Have fun!
I second the Red Lakes Peak recco. Check out the runs on the NE side of the peak above Crater Lake (watch for wind slabs too!!).
Both Waterhouse peaks off Luther Pass get decent early snow which keeps well (N slope, 30 deg or so, big loose timber....stays fluffy).
Send me a PM if you want some other ideas.
You'll have no shortage of stuff to do. The ground cover is a little mellower and it seems to take less to get the season started. Just watch out for slivers of sierra granite in the base.
Have fun!
It's interesting to see some of the terrain in early season. Jill and I usually tour around Tahoe in March, April and May. Then, the snowpack is so deep that we have never seen the rocks and shrubs. When the storm cycles begin, the snow arrives in feet rather than inches. You're gonna love it !
Hopefully, you were able to see Moon Crescent Chute on Round Top. It takes quite a bit of coverage before it's "in".
Here's some books that may provide some insight into the terrain near you:
50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California by Paul Richins
Backcountry Skiing in the High Sierra by John Moynier 1992 and 1999 editions
Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada by Marcus Libkind 4 volumes - mostly xc focused
Backcountry Snowboarding and Skiing in the Northern Sierra by George Hurchalla 2003
Ski Touring in California by David Beck 1980
Hot Springs of the Eastern Sierra by George Williams
Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Southwest by Marjorie Gersh-Young
The folks at The Backcountry store in Truckee
TelemarkTips website
See ya in the spring. ;D
Hopefully, you were able to see Moon Crescent Chute on Round Top. It takes quite a bit of coverage before it's "in".
Here's some books that may provide some insight into the terrain near you:
50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California by Paul Richins
Backcountry Skiing in the High Sierra by John Moynier 1992 and 1999 editions
Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada by Marcus Libkind 4 volumes - mostly xc focused
Backcountry Snowboarding and Skiing in the Northern Sierra by George Hurchalla 2003
Ski Touring in California by David Beck 1980
Hot Springs of the Eastern Sierra by George Williams
Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Southwest by Marjorie Gersh-Young
The folks at The Backcountry store in Truckee
TelemarkTips website
See ya in the spring. ;D
thank you ron for the welcome back to the west! it feels great to be out here, with ski access less than a day's travel away! :) and thanks jim, zap, and altahoe for the beta on books and other routes--we're looking forward to exploring more this winter, so will definitely take advantage of your advice. it was a really fun day, and a fabulous start to what i hope will be an awesome winter.
Thanks for bringing back memories of that area!Growing up skiing in north vancouver british columbia people I knew always wandered why I WOULD SKI IN CALIFORNIA,I would always respond why not.People from eastern canada always go to whistler,great place but not the same as it once was.
So I think British Columbia,Alaska,Montana,Wyoming,Colarado,California,Washington,Oregon,Idaho,mountain bits of Nevada,mountain bits of Alberta,Yukon,Utah,Wyoming,parts of New Mexico should become the ski nation,or mountain nation whatever you want to call it! Oh throw in South America!
So I think British Columbia,Alaska,Montana,Wyoming,Colarado,California,Washington,Oregon,Idaho,mountain bits of Nevada,mountain bits of Alberta,Yukon,Utah,Wyoming,parts of New Mexico should become the ski nation,or mountain nation whatever you want to call it! Oh throw in South America!
Reply to this TR
Please login first: