SierraDescents | 2009
March 18, 2009
Avalanche Rescue Course – Overview
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Last Sunday I participated in a one-day avalanche rescue course offered by the Southern California National Ski Patrol. This course was specifically intended for rescue personnel (more)
March 14, 2009
Mount Baldy – North Face & Dare Chute
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Well this was a fun day! For today's ski agenda, I thought I'd climb up Mount Baldy, give the north face a look-see, ski a piece of it if feasible, then climb back up to the (more)
March 2, 2009
Memory Lane: Arizona Snow Bowl
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Well we're working our way back home now, with a stopoff in Flagstaff for a few days. I'd kind of hoped to do some sort of backcountry tour out here, but a week of record temps (more)
February 27, 2009
Gold Hill No. 9
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9:44 am atop Telluride, elevation 12,570'. A cold wind blasts across the ridge as my brother and I hop off the Revelation Lift and check the signs near the patrol hut. The (more)
February 22, 2009
Revelations
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It feels like Europe says my brother. We are traversing into Telluride's newest terrain addition: Revelation Bowl. And yes, I think to myself, that's exactly what this is (more)
February 21, 2009
The San Francisco Peaks
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If there's a prettier mountain in the world, I don't want to know about it. Here's my hometown mountain, the San Francisco Peaks (Arizona's high point), as seen from the north. (more)
February 19, 2009
Snow Camping – Sleeping Pad Comparison
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We're here in Flagstaff, AZ, en route to Colorado for our annual family ski vacation, and I've got my tent set up in my parents' yard. No—it's not that my folks are driving (more)
February 15, 2009
Baldy Bowl – Hourglass Chute
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Maybe Yes Maybe No was kind of the theme today. I was looking for an excuse to stay home, but with our ever-changing forecast pushing the expected storm one more day yet again, I (more)
February 9, 2009
San Jacinto Peak: East Face
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Can this possibly be Southern California backcountry (more)