SierraDescents | Category | Current Conditions
February 10, 2008
San Gabriel Backcountry Warning

Travelers in the San Gabriel Mountains should be alert for unusually treacherous icy conditions on all north and shaded aspects (including NE and NW) between approximately 6000 (more)
January 22, 2008
Storm Watch

Looking out the window here at fairly menacing clouds that haven't managed to do much in the way of rain or snow in the local mountains thus far. Mt. Baldy reported a trace of (more)
January 20, 2008
West Baldy Report

Yesterday I climbed up West Baldy with a partner and then skied down to the hut. We started the day around 7:30 at Manker Flat, carrying skis on packs to the hut, for a nice 2000 (more)
January 14, 2008
Scouting Baldy’s North Face

Here's a look at Mount Baldy's north face (Mt. San Antonio) as seen from the summit of Baden-Powell on Saturday. Compared to last year's bare rock, the sight of all this snow in (more)
January 4, 2008
Storm of the Half-Century

Did I really just hear the TV News say they're expecting snowfall rates of 7+ inches per hour in the Sierra? Some forecasters are also saying this may be the biggest snowfall (more)
January 2, 2008
Observations

Two days ago, I drove home across the desert from Flagstaff, Arizona. Incidentally, they have snow in Flagstaff—lots of it. I was able to ski at the Snowbowl, my hometown (more)
March 29, 2007
El Nino or El Nada?

Some of you may recall this was supposed to be an El Nino Winter, with above-average precipitation for the western United States. What happened? This winter can be charitably (more)
March 8, 2007
Mount Baldy Report: Bleak

I've been suspecting (or maybe hoping is the better word) there's more snow in the local mountains than reported. The only way to get good intel, I know, is to put boots on the (more)
March 2, 2007
Monument Avalanche

I would assume this avalanche on Mammoth Mountain's Monument ski run was the result of control work and not naturally-triggered, but it is nevertheless impressive to (more)
January 12, 2007
Sierra Winter?

As we continue to hear reports of more snow in Colorado, prospects on the home front remain kind of...well...dismal. Over at ESAC, Sue Burak's avy forecast for the day notes, (more)