July 1, 2011, Black Peak,Virginia Lakes,The Sierra
7/1/11
US elsewhere
2455
3
June 28-29 it was raining on the west side of The Sierra so Jill and I spent 2 days in Yosemite photographing the incredible waterfalls this summer. We then drove across the Tioga Pass Rd towards Lee Vining and ran into Jim, Rico and Silas. We suggested our favorite eatery the Whoa Nellie Deli/MobileMart. WOW, it was crowded. We got the fish tacos and carrot cake with the raspberry drizzle. Jim and Eric were lusting at our dessert and finally ordered one. The guys mentioned Virginia Lakes and we headed there to check out the snow coverage and find a campsite. Still fair coverage on Black and Olsen. We took the Green River connector road to a high ridgeline and parked all 3 vehicles. Great views of the Virginia Lakes peaks, Mono Lake and Bridgeport Reservoir and mosquitoes.
On July 1, we got a casual 9:30am start and parked at the fishing area and headed up climbers left of Black Peak. We had to walk about 100 yards before we reached continuous snow. But starting at 9800 ft. was pleasant. I was feeling the elevation seeing the highest I had been so far was around 8000. Rico, Jim and Silas are in great shape and have spent a few days at elevation so they were moving at a faster pace. We started the climb immediately with ski crampons due to the steep terrain and pleasant corn. My goal was to turn around at 10,500 and I made it. The guys eventually saddled their skis and booted it to the top ridge. I found a rather smooth section of the lower bowl and enjoyed an inch of cream corn until it was time to hike back to the fishermen parking lot. Hopefully, Silas, Rico or Jim will post some photos of the rest of their tour.
Jill and I usually tour in the Virginia Lakes area in April/May so it was enjoyable to see the terrain a bit drier. It was great to meet the guys and share a meal and beer in The Sierra. We gave them the info on Travertine Hot Springs so hopefully they will get a soak with a great view of The Sawtooth Range.
Jill and I are headed to Lake Tahoe to ride some lifts. I'll ski Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. ;)
Photo 1 Campsite above Virginia Lakes
Photo 2 Black Peak Senior Citizen skiers
Photo 3 Black Peak-climbed left finger
On July 1, we got a casual 9:30am start and parked at the fishing area and headed up climbers left of Black Peak. We had to walk about 100 yards before we reached continuous snow. But starting at 9800 ft. was pleasant. I was feeling the elevation seeing the highest I had been so far was around 8000. Rico, Jim and Silas are in great shape and have spent a few days at elevation so they were moving at a faster pace. We started the climb immediately with ski crampons due to the steep terrain and pleasant corn. My goal was to turn around at 10,500 and I made it. The guys eventually saddled their skis and booted it to the top ridge. I found a rather smooth section of the lower bowl and enjoyed an inch of cream corn until it was time to hike back to the fishermen parking lot. Hopefully, Silas, Rico or Jim will post some photos of the rest of their tour.
Jill and I usually tour in the Virginia Lakes area in April/May so it was enjoyable to see the terrain a bit drier. It was great to meet the guys and share a meal and beer in The Sierra. We gave them the info on Travertine Hot Springs so hopefully they will get a soak with a great view of The Sawtooth Range.
Jill and I are headed to Lake Tahoe to ride some lifts. I'll ski Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. ;)
Photo 1 Campsite above Virginia Lakes
Photo 2 Black Peak Senior Citizen skiers
Photo 3 Black Peak-climbed left finger
Awesome -- here I was expecting Silas to get the first TR of July and you went and scooped him. :)
That's funny Marcus, I was expecting the same from Silas. ;) Thanks for sharing some photos Zap, wondering what the area looked like. Enjoy the rest of your adventurous vacation!
yaa, Z - that's the wise approach to the mtns, do it on the Mtns terms and not yours (in regards to acclimatizing). nice photos, of my fav. spring B/C spot. I can't remember getting a lotta of turns in there this season, as the road opened May 1 (2 wks late). then May was half storms **. the spot I ski is the last pic - I call it the North wall (the usual ice lake there is called Red Lk), as Black Mtn is to the west. it goes from 40 - 50 degrees and the best talent I've seen in the past 15 seasons, was tele-rs from Truckee. this place, pretty much, sees little traffic due to the location! I'm glad the latest guidebk (out of Mammoth) did not include here. (just a joke, I guess Mammoth is too high for you) 11,053
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