SierraDescents.com

Baden-Powell Again

Mount Baldy's north face, from the summit of Baden-Powell

I know, I tend to rhapsodize when the San Gabriels have snow, but hear me out: perched as they are atop desert, city, and sea, is there really a better place to ski? My son and (more)

The Throoping Will Continue…

The Throoping Will Continue...

Until morale improves. Although, actually, morale is pretty good right now. The 2 is open and... what on Earth is happening out there, people? It's madness. Madness! But (more)

November Throop

November Throop

The saga continues: this week's storm dropped copious amounts of moisture on our local mountains, and, above 8000 feet, at least temporarily brought things back into the "skiable" (more)

Twenty Years of SierraDescents

The first Sierra Descent: Andy Lewicky & Matterhorn Peak

On November 11, 2005, I hit the "publish" button for the very first time and sierradescents.com went live, beginning what would become an ongoing project of sharing and (more)

Kingston Peak

Kingston Peak, California

Note: this was not quite an abominable hike for me, but it might be an abominable hike for you, so if you find yourself tempted by these words or photos, please keep that in (more)

THR Podcast: Fire & Ice

Andy Lewicky contemplates the SoCal backcountry

About a week after the Palisades Fire, Jason Albert, managing editor at The High Route, reached out via email. That led to a short interview, which was a nice distraction in what (more)

More Throop

Matt Dixon skiing Throop Peak's North Face, Oct 2025

Here's Matt D working his way down Throop's north gullies today. We ascended from Dawson saddle, summited, skied probably a thousand vertical feet, and then exited back up to the (more)

Baden-Powell’s Northwest Ridge

Baden-Powell's North-Northwest ridge, from Dawson Saddle

The glades along the sunny side of BP's northwest ridge looked irresistible from Dawson Saddle on Monday, so I went back yesterday to give it a try. Alas those gleaming fields (more)

Throoping in October

October snowpack on the north side of Throop Peak, California

The one and only Al Preston talked me into leaving my sofa for Throop Peak today, and unlike last week's Pinos foray, there's real skiing to be had in the San Gabriels. First, (more)

Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

Ascending Mount Pinos on skis, Oct 15, 2025

If I were making a list of things I never expect to do, skiing the SoCal backcountry in October would be close to the top. Well, scratch that one off the list! Here's Mount (more)

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About SierraDescents

When there is snow, SierraDescents is Andy Lewicky's California backcountry skiing and mountaineering website. Without snow, sierradescents becomes an ill-tempered hiking and climbing blog.

Pray for snow.