April 9-12, 2011, Eastern Sierras

Nice work! Looks like it was a beautiful area to explore.

Awesome!! Thanks for the report.

Great TR and photos.  Keep the reports coming.  I love touring the Eastern Sierra.  The last photo has a nice view of Laurel Mtn. at 11,400' in the background with the Mendenhall Couloir,4000vf, which is a dogleg right from a skiers perspective.

Photos I've seen so far show some pretty junky snow with a fair bit of wind damage. Bishop has 60 mph winds forecast again today. The strongest winds I've encountered there broke the anenometer at Rovana with 120 mph plus. At camp my tent was the only one still there and that was because a tree fell on it. I spotted a number of tents later, though....hanging on barbwire.

From local weatherman Howard Sheckter: Quick update:

Changes to earlier thinking include a much flatter upper flow into the Sierra with more moisture in the upper levels. A now NW flow pattern will allow several impulses that will bring periods of wind as will as light precipitation. Some upper elevation snow and lower elevation rain is expected about every other day. Winds will be more on than off…..Temps will be mild with highs in the 40s and 50s and lows in the 20s and lower 30s.  Winds will range in the 15 to 30 MPH range in town with winds in the upper elevations 40 to 60+ MPH at times.

wo, cool! 

were the approaches as epic as the lines?

So where do I drive to (towns
& trail-heads..yah, and how "epic" the approaches...thanks..)?

First off, drool...N Emerson is high on my list.  Is it as a steep as it looks at the top?

Secondly, the towns you want are Bishop, Mammoth, Lee Vining and Bridgeport.

Third, the approaches are cush.  Many trailheads (at least the ones that begin at lakes) get plowed out for the trout opener the third weekend in april, so you can literally step onto 3-4 feet of snow at the car at 9,000.  There is very little brush to be found, even when things are melted out (or "burnt" in the California parlance.)

The crux of any of the lines shown (besides the 40-50 degree gnar) I would say is navigating the horrible road into the buttermilks for the Wahoo gulleys and N Emerson.

+1 on the dirt road being the crux of the approach for Emmerson and Wahoo. Half the lines in these photos are accessed out of the same little dirt pull out at the top of the Buttermilk Road loop, which is just outside of Bishop off of CA 168. The hike/ski is not that long but the drive is easier with some clearance.

I'd get a copy of Backcountry Skiing California's Eastern Sierra by Mingori and Greenberg - all these areas are in there, and there's good information on additional lines beyond the big classics. Stuff off of the Dana Plateau near Lee Vining is also highly recommended.

Thanks for the TR! Maybe I need to go visit Emerson again soon (bailed last time due to wind and a couple parties above us....our loss!). Great pics.

Good one....Thanks for sharing.....

Now you have me jonesing to go back to the Eastern Sierras.... 8)

Good call on Emerson.  Looks like you nailed amazing conditions.

If you were up by Little Morrison on the 12th, we probably passed each other.  (I did an early lap in Old Man's Bowl with the dog.)

Nice descents, Jay.  8)

Another beautiful day coming up in the Sierra on Monday:

NWS Reno: AN ANOMALOUSLY STRONG JET MOVES INTO THE WEST COAST SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY WITH 700-500 MB WINDS 3-4 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL. RIDGE WINDS IN THE SIERRA WILL BEGIN TO PICK UP SUNDAY WITH GUSTS PEAKING ON MONDAY ABOVE 100 MPH. AN INCREASING SURFACE GRADIENT WILL COMBINE WITH THESE STRONG UPPER LEVELS WINDS MAKING MONDAY A WINDY DAY ACROSS THE REGION. HAVE CONTINUED TREND OF RAISING WINDS THROUGH THIS PERIOD WITH THE BIGGEST CHANGES MADE TO THE SIERRA RIDGES AND CREST TO BRING GUSTS IN THE 100-120 MPH RANGE. WITH 600 MB WINDS OF 60-75 MPH...THIS MAY BE CONSERVATIVE FOR THE HIGHER SIERRA PEAKS IN MONO COUNTY.

Wind forecast upgraded from merely breezy, NWS Reno:

MONO COUNTY ABOVE 10000 FEET- 440 AM PDT MON APR 25 2011  ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING...  .TODAY...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. WEST WINDS 55 TO 75 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 110 MPH INCREASING TO 125 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS 25 TO 32. .TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING... THEN ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. WEST WINDS 65 TO 85 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 130 MPH DECREASING TO 50 TO 70 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 115 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS 13 TO 22. .TUESDAY...SUNNY. NORTHWEST WINDS 35 TO 55 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 85 MPH.