Trip Report
Ski Season Ain't Over! Touring from Rock Creek to Mammoth
Thursday May 26, 2016 4:44pm
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Credit: Hoots
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Although the snowline here in the Eastern Sierra is rising fast, there is still a lot of snow in the backcountry, especially once you get up and over the Crest. This has made for great conditions for mountaineering seminars, climbs on Mount Whitney, low elevation rock sending, and my favorite, springtime ski tours.

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We have not had a backcountry season like the one we have been enjoying for a number of years now, at least not well into May, so we are happy not to have to put the skis in the garage just yet. The weather has not been a typical spring one, however, with lots of small systems rolling through to keep everyone on their toes. There has not really been a true corn cycle, at least that hasn't lasted more than 10 days.

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So with all these variables, I was really lucky to have such a fun ski tour from Rock Creek to Mammoth with a couple of fit young guys, Charlie and Taylor. We put our skis on right next to the car, and were able to ski the entire route with the exception of a mile of road walking at the very end. Not bad!

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The forecast looked kind of grim, but we figured that it might actually mean some good skiing during the trip. Turned out to be better than we expected. We climbed up and over Halfmoon Pass on Day 1, belaying a short downclimb, and then getting nice skiing down the drainage before climbing to our camp in Pioneer Basin. We awoke to 6" of light and dry snow, so packed up camp quickly to get some skiing in before the sun affected it.

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We climbed up to Steelhead Pass, a gradual ascent first thing in the morning, and were happy to make fantastic powder turns down the other side. We had so much fun we booted back up for another lap on a steeper shot too.

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Credit: Hoots
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We still had miles to cover this day, so we kept on climbing up past McGee Lake, under Red and White Mountain and to the spectacular ski pass, Corridor Pass. This has got to be one of my favorite passes to ski up and over- great views, big mountains looming above, and again, a nice long ski down the other side to our camp below Red Slate Mountain near Lake Wit So Nah Pah.

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Credit: Hoots
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The morning of Day 3 brought the first real funky weather of the trip, with poor visibility as we made our way up to Pretty Pass (thanks to the low vis we also climbed and skied the quite steep "Extra Pass", which does not come highly recommended!). Once over Pretty we skied down into Franklin and Ram Lakes Basin and in increasingly crappy weather took the option to camp early, and hunkered down for tea.

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Credit: Hoots
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On Day 4 we had blue skies (not for long), a brisk North wind and the guys had their eyes set on burgers and beers. We still had a steep climb up Pika Pass though, and then a really good long ski down to Pika Lake.
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Credit: Hoots
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The skiing on the North sides of the passes was consistently good, and we had a really enjoyable time making turns- always nice not to have to ski breakable crust carrying a heavy overnight pack!

After we made it over Duck Pass we found a nice entrance to Barney Bowl to ski, and then eeked our way through increasingly sloppy snow until we reached the end of the road.

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The Rock Creek to Mammoth Tour is definitely once not to be missed: it features classic touring terrain with options for many fun ski descents, and packs 6 passes into its relatively short 30 mile length.


While I still have some ski plans left for the season, I am transitioning into some mountain programs and alpine rock climbing trips for June. Hope to see you out in the mountains!

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Credit: Hoots
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  Trip Report Views: 2,738
Hoots
About the Author
Ryan Huetter grew up near the coastal tidewaters of the Puget Sound in Washington State, but has since traded moss and rain for the sunshine and splitter cracks of the Sierra Nevada. Working as a full time mountain guide while pursuing IFMGA certification, he is able to enjoy the unbelievable year round skiing and climbing the Sierra is known for.

Comments
Stewart Johnson

Gym climber
top lake
  May 26, 2016 - 04:53pm PT
Dope.
SC seagoat

Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, Bozeman, the ocean, or ?
  May 26, 2016 - 04:54pm PT
Holy Shit!!!!

Love love love it!

Susan
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  May 26, 2016 - 04:57pm PT
looks like a great time out! Fun!!!
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
  May 26, 2016 - 05:06pm PT
Nice! Thanks for sharing.
crankster

Trad climber
No. Tahoe
  May 26, 2016 - 07:08pm PT
Great TR!
zBrown

Ice climber
  May 26, 2016 - 07:18pm PT
Thanks for the show ... er .. snow.


After we made it over Duck Pass ...

Doesn't Herr Braun hang out there sometimes?
Urmas

Social climber
Sierra Eastside
  May 26, 2016 - 07:24pm PT
Way to go Ryan! looks like fun!!
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
  May 26, 2016 - 08:28pm PT
Awesome!!! Beautiful, the Sierra delivers!
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
  May 26, 2016 - 08:59pm PT
So beautiful - thank you for sharing. How many lbs in the pack on day 1?

Would love to see those pics rendered without the small size and ugly frames that ST slaps on 'em.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
  May 26, 2016 - 09:09pm PT
Nice!!!! Serious Sierra fun!
johntp

Trad climber
Punter, Little Rock
  May 26, 2016 - 09:29pm PT
Nice! Love that tour.
Bascuela

Trad climber
Fresno, CA
  May 26, 2016 - 11:09pm PT
Good read, thanks for the share.
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  May 27, 2016 - 03:57am PT
Awesomeness abounds,
Thanks Ryan!
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
  May 27, 2016 - 08:26am PT
Still looks like pristine wilderness to me!
Terrific pictures and crisp writing. Thanks much for the report!
Phil_B

Social climber
CHC, en zed
  May 27, 2016 - 09:22am PT
Suh-weet!

Thanks for posting up
Vitus

Trad climber
California
  May 27, 2016 - 09:26am PT
Great photos and trip report! Motivation to buy randonee ski set up for next spring.
Klimmer

Mountain climber
  May 27, 2016 - 09:58am PT
Simply Awesome!!!
wilbeer

Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
  May 27, 2016 - 11:14am PT
Thank You Kindly.
the Fet

climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
  May 27, 2016 - 01:45pm PT
Is the corn cycle the same thing as the popcorn button on my microwave?
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
  May 27, 2016 - 06:59pm PT
Looks like you could ride that on fat bikes when it corns up...?
handsome B

Gym climber
SL,UT
  May 27, 2016 - 07:19pm PT
Nice work!
Hoots

climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Author's Reply  May 27, 2016 - 07:21pm PT
@le_bruce: I was carrying 32 lbs, that included water and a 40m rope.
You should be able check out pics in high res here- http://www.ryanhuetter.com/2016/05/still-skiing-in-sierra.html

I WISH we had a corn cycle button! But without hard freezes it's just gonna go mushy. Time to start thinking about mountain biking and hand jamming...
Dapper Dan

Trad climber
Redwood City
  May 27, 2016 - 07:37pm PT
very nice , enjoyed the photos ....
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
  May 27, 2016 - 07:46pm PT
Great report TYFP!
10b4me

Social climber
Lida Junction
  May 28, 2016 - 01:44pm PT
looked like fun.
Ryan Tetz

Trad climber
Bishop, CA
  May 28, 2016 - 04:31pm PT
Digging it!
Mark Force

Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
  May 28, 2016 - 06:42pm PT
That is truly wonderful! Thanks for the stoke!
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
  May 29, 2016 - 07:18am PT
You got my attention!
HighTraverse

Trad climber
Bay Area
  Jun 10, 2016 - 12:26pm PT
Delicious! Thanks for the inspiring TR.
sowr

Trad climber
CA
  Jun 10, 2016 - 03:53pm PT
Great job! Thanks for posting.
ClimberDave

Trad climber
The LBC, CA
  Jun 10, 2016 - 04:15pm PT
Sweet!!

If I could only ski mobetta!

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