SierraDescents | Category | Current Conditions
June 13, 2015
Surviving the Gloom

Among the many challenges residents of Southern California face, perhaps none is so dire as the loss of the very thing that defines our existence. I am speaking, of course, of (more)
May 26, 2015
The Winter Wrap: 2015

What happened? I think I can safely speak on behalf of most Californians when I say 2014-2015 was not the winter we were hoping for. Coming fresh on the heels of last year's (more)
May 8, 2015
Say No To Summer Alert!

On the strength of an out-of-nowhere May storm that has dropped 12-18" of fresh snow and is still going, Mammoth Mountain has cancelled their planned closure this weekend. I (more)
May 2, 2015
Mammoth in May

Here was my thought: what if I could pretend I was skiing in August, instead of May? Today's conditions would be pretty spectacular, I reasoned, if we were skiing in August, and (more)
March 9, 2015
Dust to Dust

Those of you who made it to the Big Bear area this past weekend found conditions about as good as they've been all year, thanks to fresh snow and a furious bout of snowmaking. (more)
February 23, 2015
At The Eleventh Hour, Snow

I was thinking, yesterday, about skinny runs. For those of you who skied in the 70's or 80's, I'm sure you remember them, because that's all there were: narrow, winding runs that (more)
February 11, 2015
Mammoth Encased In Ice

Yes, I'd heard Mammoth Mountain saw rain virtually from top to bottom over the past few days, but some things you just have to see with your own eyes to believe. Holy Mr. (more)
February 11, 2015
Above and Below the Line

Here's a fairly dramatic look at just how high the snow level was during this last Sierra storm cycle. This looks like the aftermath of some kind of freakish summer snow squall, (more)
February 9, 2015
Reluctant Post-Storm Discussion

I guess we have to say something about the storm, though for the past few hours I've been wondering if maybe it would be better if we all just pretended it never happened. (more)
February 2, 2015
San G Siren Song of the Day

Yes, there it is, the continuing siren of San Gorgonio Mountain's north face, as seen yesterday from the View Haus at Snow Summit. Sorry the photo quality is so poor: one of our (more)