March 18, 2007, Becker Peak, Desolation Wilderness

Becker Peak is on the southern edge of the Desolation Wilderness and southwest of Lake Tahoe.  You depart South Lake Tahoe and stay on Hwy 50 through Meyers and climb to Echo Summit at 7370€™.  There used to be a CA snow park at the summit on the south side.  This snow park has now been leased to a concessionaire who charges $10 a car to use the snow play area. This eliminated one of our pleasant overnight sites.  As you travel west after the summit there is another snow park on the north side at 7300€™ which is the TH for the Becker tour.  Becker is a rather unknown tour because the masses usually travel a bit further west along hwy 50 to ski Ralston and Pyramid.  These are excellent tours in winter or early spring BUT have a lower starting elevation. They often require hiking on dirt to start.  Since they are south facing the afternoon sun bakes the lower slopes and quickly turns things to mush, unless you have a €œdawn patrol€.  As a few of you know, I hate walking on dirt to start a tour.  So the plan was to start at the reasonable hour of 11am, tour a seldom visited peak, and ski the north facing slopes which should be ideal.  We nailed 2 out of 3.

The tour follows the snow covered road that leads to Lower Echo Lake.  After about 0.4 miles you leave the road and head west to pick up the ridge that leads to Becker.  The ridge is a gradual ascent through old growth until you reach the base of the rocky summit at 8320€™.  We toured around the south side and stood above the huge bowl that separates Becker and Talking Mt to the west. Below us was Lower Echo Lake.  The views north and west are into Desolation Wilderness which has a lifetime of peaks, valleys, lakes and, naturally, ski touring terrain. In the parking area we met a skier who was heading to Echo Peak, but our view of the southern aspect showed a mostly brown slope.  Our plan was to descend the north facing bowl towards Lower Echo Lake at 7410€™ and then work our way back to the road.  Unfortunately, Jill€™s hip was reminding her that it had had enough climbing and only wanted a ski descent.  Seeing that the bowl descent would require some bushwhacking out to the road, we decided to ski back along our climbing route.  The ridge descent was pleasant and her hip was happy - which makes us both happy. 

For future tours, it is an easy skin westward to Talking Mt. at 8824€™.  This provides 1200 to 1400 VF descents on mainly north facing terrain.  There are numerous bowls with chutes, gullies, ridgelines and tree descents.  It is easy access and you will probably have the place to yourself.  It sounds like a small snow event will occur on Tuesday, and we€™ll probably head north shortly afterwards.

Zap & Jill