Explore SierraDescents
Welcome to SierraDescents.com, featuring 15+ years of California hiking, climbing, and backcountry skiing. From Cuyamaca Peak to Mount Shasta and everything in between, here are the keys to the castle:
Site Navigation
A Few Favorites
Browse by Category
- California
- Climbing
- Current Conditions
- Gear
- Health
- Hiking
- Kids
- Musings
- News
- Photography
- Science
- Skiing
- Telluride
- Tips & Technique
- Video
Peaks
- Mammoth
- Mount Baldy
- Mount San Gorgonio
- Mount San Jacinto
- Mount Langley
- Mount Whitney
- Mount Williamson
- Mount Shasta
Favorites From the Blog
- Cottonwood Camp Strikes Again
- In the Path of Totality
- Sea-Level Acclimatization Strategies
- Headfirst Down an Ice Cliff
Tips, Technique, & How-to
- Andy's Essays on Backcountry Safety
- Principles of Steep Skiing
- Andy's Ski Bootfitting Tips
- How to Melt Snow for Water
- Food Storage in Bear Country
- Does HDPE smell?
- Ski Pole Belay
- Snow Camping – Sleeping Pad Comparison
- Backcountry Cooking
- Thoughts on Approach
Teach Your Kids to Ski
- Introduction
- Kids' Gear Tips
- Teach Ski Culture
- Thoughts on Safety
- Everyone Has Fun, No One Gets Hurt
- (view all)
Eccentricities
Archives — 2021
- A Mammoth Storm
- Waterman & Highway 2
- December Snow
- It’s Coming
- Fog & Magic
- The Sierra Wave
- Nuclear: Did We Make a (Huge) Mistake?
- Avalanche Gulch Ethereal
- Mount Whitney Crest
- In All Things: Extremes
- October
- Old Caves Crater
- The Smoke Season
- Biking Highway 2
- Once More, Into the Woods
- Langley via the East-Southeast Ridge
- Baldy via the North Backbone
- San Gabriel Canyon
- Hiking Throop Peak to Baden-Powell
- Ski Hut-Devil’s Backbone Loop
- Mammoth Memorial Day Weekend
- Ontario Peak
- Parker Mesa Loop
- Mount Islip
- Closing Day
- Update
2020
- Is Throop Still Going?
- Gorgonio
- Mount Islip
- Baldy’s North Face
- A Good Day at Baldy
- C2N — End Credits Theme
- Telegraph Peak
- Anvil Camp via Shepherd Pass Trail
- Mount Keith
- Los Angeles With Clean Air
- Whitney’s North Face
- 101 Switchbacks
- North Palisade: The U-Notch
- Cirque Peak
- Mammoth Closes
- WWSRA 2020-2021 Ski Reviews
- Sierra Snowpack Update
- Dave McCoy
- Snow Valley Sunday
- Backcountry Photography Rule #1
- Vail, All These Years Later
- The San Francisco Peaks
2019
- San Jacinto Grind
- Christmas Snow
- November Snow
- November
- My Dreams of Vail
- Gregory Targhee 26
- Happy Halloween
- Ducks
- Return to Dana
- Winter Up High, Summer Down Low
- San Gorgonio Reprise
- The Gullies of Baden-Powell
- Mount Islip
- Our Magnificent Mountain
- Baldy Bowl Sunday
- Mountain High East
- Waterman Spins its Lifts
- Baden Powell From Inspiration Point
- WWSRA 2019 Ski Reviews
- LA Basin Snowfall!
- Southern California Dreaming (Reprise)
- What’s Going On Out There?
- Bear Mountain
- Waterman
- A SoCal Storm Cycle (Updated)
2018
- Early Season Sierra
- Kenneth Hahn
- Will There Be Snow, Cont’d…
- The California Fires
- Halloween
- Will There Be Snow?
- At Least We Have The Beach
- Interlude
- Summer Arrives
- Maybe Skip Onion Valley…
- Skiing Baden-Powell, 2018 Edition
- March Miracle for Mammoth
- SoCal Rain (and Snow?)
- Gorgonio & San Jacinto
- SoCal Backcountry Report
- Snow Valley, Express Edition
2017
- Merry Christmas 2017
- Quick Look: DryGuy Travel Dry
- December
- Mammoth in August
- In the Path of Totality
- Mammoth in July
- Mammoth in June
- Mount Sill: Two North Couloirs
- Mammoth In May
- Birch Mountain—Still Big
- Mount Russell – Northeast Couloir
- Mount Carillon — Southeast Face
- Skiing The Thumb
- What’s Going On Out There?
- The Air Is Alive With Snow
- Scouting Folly
- Go West, Young Man
- Sugarloaf aka The Bump
- Baden-Powell – East Face
- Scouting Sugarloaf
- Lost in the San Jacintos
- Snow Valley Musings
- Mount Pinos & Sawmill Mountain
- Snoverload
- Damn Frickin’ Lucky To Be Here Day
- Waterman
- It’s a SoCal Winter!
- Super Storm
2016
- The Couloir To Nowhere – Full Version
- Mammoth Opens
- October
- Summer At A Glance
- Pedaling Breakthroughs
- Getting to Know You: Dynastar Mythic & Scarpa F1
- Steep Technique: Revisiting The DesLauriers Article
- Mammoth News
- Anselme’s Turn
- Information Underload
- SIA 2016: Skis
- SIA 2016: Touring Boots
- Hips Over Tips?
- Return To Baldy
- Snowbowl Gets A Lift
2015
- A Blue, Blue Christmas
- Back To Snow
- It Could Be Worse!
- Cottonwood Camp Strikes Again
- Notes For A Film
- San Francisco
- Atop The Peaks
- SP Crater
- Flagstaff
- Is It Time to Buy El Nino Insurance?
- Enlightenment vs. The Marionette
- A Walk Around the Block
- What I’m Doing (And Not Doing)
- Surviving the Gloom
- The BPA Saga Continues…
- 2005: Origins
- The Winter Wrap: 2015
- Say No To Summer Alert!
- Steep Skiing: Uphill Ski Strategies Part II
- Mammoth in May
- Mammoth April Fools
- Telluride Blues
- Dust to Dust
- The Kabookie Bids Adieu
- At The Eleventh Hour, Snow
- 2015 WWSRA Mammoth Mountain
- Mammoth Encased In Ice
- Above and Below the Line
- Reluctant Post-Storm Discussion
- San G Siren Song of the Day
- The January Report
- Kids: The Snowplow Returns
- Happy New Year!
2014
- Mammoth Wind
- It’s Coming In Warm
- Snow, Rain, & Mesh Canopies
- Summit Opens
- Pumpkins, Snow, & Rainbows
- Wildrose Peak Panorama
- Fransson
- Sawtooth Peak
- Sierra Class 3
- University Peak
- Waucoba Summit Panorama
- Inyo Mts: Squaw Peak
- Mount Diablo
- Where’s Your Sierra?
- Kearsarge Peak Panorama
- Fixing Your Feet
- Cirque Peak Panorama
- Revelation Bowl
- The Vertigo Machine
- Memorial Day
- The Agonies of Digital Media
- Not Another Heat Wave…
- Steep Skiing: The Unweight
- The Vipec’s Viability
- Hangman’s June 2011
- Kabookie vs. Bonafide
- Steep Skiing: The Downhill Ski
- The Wildcard Winter
- Steep Technique: Uphill Ski Strategy I
- Bare Mountain
- Snow Summit: Top to Bottom
- Gorgonio Is In
- San Jacinto Sunday
- SIA 2014: Accessories
- SIA 2014: Bindings
- Significant Rain/Snow?
- SIA 2014: Boots
- SIA 2014: The Skis
- SIA Denver 2014
- Snow Valley: January 2014
- Summit: Still Solid
- Skiing’s Man-Made Future
2013
- Downtown Driest Ever
- Merry Christmas 2013!
- Just Add Snow
- Reading the SoCal Backcountry
- Mammoth Thanksgiving
- November Snow
- Thoughts on Approach
- Blind to the Bishop
- Sea-Level Acclimatization Strategies
- Backcountry Cooking: Chicken w/Broccoli
- Canyon With Kids, Reprised
- Sunset at Plateau Point
- The Well-Cooked Andy
- A Very Cool August
- Olancha Peak: House of Pain
- What The Heck Happened to Windsurfing?
- Olancha Peak Panorama
- Summer Ski Tips
- The West’s Fiery Future
- Lounging on Hammock in Flagstaff
- San Gorgonio: South Fork Loop
- San Gorgonio Panorama
- Mount Hollywood
- The Winter Wrap
- Wahoo Gullies Are Burnt
- White Mountain Is White
- Principles of Steep Skiing: Revised
- Mammoth: Electrifying!
- El Gringo Eskiador
- Steep Technique: I Was Wrong!
- Mammoth
- Snow Valley: Done
- Esha Peak
- Birch Mountain Benchmark
- ‘The Turn’
- Point of No Return?
- Kids: Chasing The Cousins
- A Telluride Storm
- Blue Ridge Benchmark
- San J Okay
- Kids: Get Help When You Need It
- Slide Peak Sunday
- SIA 2013: The New Skis
- The Mid-January “Hmm”
- How to Empathize With Your Freezing L.A. Friends
- Snow Valley: Top to Bottom
2012
- Of Mountains and Molehills
- Merry Christmas!
- Reversion to the Mean
- Mt. San Antonio and Downtown
- My Quick & Dirty Bootfitting Tips
- The Mammoth Report
- First Steps: Kids on Snow
- Death Valley In ’49
- November Snow
- The Invisible Note
- The Cosmos Conundrum
- Review: ‘Choose Your Adventure’
- My Most-Hated Video
- Grand Canyon: Rim to Rim
- My Halloween Visitor
- Shifting Baselines
- Nikon D800 vs. Sony RX100
- Grand Canyon: Rim to Rim in 7 Gigs
- Wilson Mtn Panorama
- Andrew McLean Visits SoCal
- The Marine Layer Returns
- Today’s Slice of Zen
- Nothing Endures But Change (Bodie Edition)
- Chicago
- Marina del Rey Fireworks Return
- Mammoth Lakes Declares Bankruptcy
- No June?
- Venus Alert
- False White
- Leavitt Peak Groove
- Mt. Conness: Y-Couloir
- Sierra Snowpack Update
- ‘The Couloir to Nowhere’ on TV
- April Snow
- Finding Appropriate Terrain
- San Jacinto Update
- Skiing San Diego
- Skiing With Kids: Dry Land Training
- The Deep Report
- I Threw Out My Baldy Passes
- Charlton Peak Panorama
- The San G Report
- Embracing the Edgie-Wedgie
- The Liabilities of the Leash
- Everyone Has Fun, No One Gets Hurt
- Chasing My Brother
- Skiing With Kids: Safety
- SIA Preview: Rocker for the Ladies
- A Photo You Don’t Need to See…
- Skiing With Kids: Culture
- Kids’ Gear From Head to Toe
- Ambrose at GreenStone Lake
- Skiing With Kids: Introduction
- TPR Open?
- Resolutions
- A Bony New Year
2011
- The Muir Disconnect
- A (Virtual) White Christmas
- Dressing High vs. Low
- Mount Muir Panorama
- Review: ‘Salt’
- Review: The Swiss Machine
- English Asymmetries
- Review: Cold
- Extra Sunset, Served With Ice
- C2N Goes to Graz
- West Baldy Timelapse
- White Mountain: South Face
- White Mountain Panorama
- Wakesurfing?
- Telescope Peak: North Ridge
- Telescope Panorama
- Laying Down the Laws (Museum)
- Mammoth: Top to Bottom
- A Double Dose of Dana
- Split Mountain: North Face
- Say No to Summer
- Split Mountain
- Skiing Whitney’s North Face
- Whitney!
- Steep Turns & ‘Edge of Never’
- Mount Muir: East Buttress
- Portal Road, Snow, Permits
- Thor Peak
- 395 Report (South)
- The Girly Man
- Back from the Bird
- Winter Returns (Again)
- SierraDescents Performance Art
- Scouting Telegraph Peak
- Snow Valley $199 Pass
- Sweet, Sweet Jean
- Arizona Snowbowl: Top to Bottom
- Wolfgang Lert’s “Mugelhupf”
- The Inbounds Powder Experience
- Palmyra Peak
- The Heater is Gray
- SIA Denver
- Mt. San Antonio – North Face
- Finding Backcountry Partners in SoCal
- Baldy Bowl Avalanche
- C2N Goes to Denver
- 9500 to 1500
- Cornell Peak?
2010
- San Jacinto: Fortress of Solitude
- A White Christmas
- Ma Nature Goes Insane
- A Four Hour (Cold) Shower
- Winter Yearbook (2009-2010)
- Powderwhore Productions’ Television
- The Eagle (and the UFC) Have Landed
- The South Fork Slide, Revisited
- The ‘Couloir to Nowhere’ DVD is Here!
- Bon Voyage, Dan!
- Predictions?
- “The Story” Hollywood Premiere
- Sierra Sightlines
- October Rain
- A Trip to the Gym
- 113?
- Beyond Survival
- Half Dome Cables & Crowds
- Half Dome via the Cables
- $99 Baldy Passes Return
- The South Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop
- Skiing Meteor Crater?
- Slings ‘n Physics
- The Bridge to Nowhere
- Williamson Blues
- Split Mountain – South Face
- TPR Opens
- U-Notch Ice Dancing
- Last Days at Baldy
- San Gorgonio Mountain
- Snow Creek
- West Baldy
- The Couloir to Nowhere
- Telluride: Top To Bottom
- The San Juan Snowpack
- A Powdery Plunge
- San Antonio Ridge Traverse
- Avy Education: Motivation
- The San Jacinto Report
- A SoCal Rando Race
- Telegraph Peak: North Face
- 2009-2010 A/T Boot RoundUp
- Jean Peak: East Face
- Avalanche Education: Reluctance
- 3 Storms
2009
- At the Snowbowl
- Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
- Mountain High Boot Camp
- Mt. Baldy: Not Much Candy Today
- December Snow
- This is Your Brain on Altitude
- Powell’s Prayer
- Mt. Baldy Bikini Party
- Winter Yearbook (2008-2009)
- Santa Monica Pier 100th & Fireworks
- Mount Whitney: East Face
- The Fresh Air Traverse
- Hypoxic Interval Training?
- It's a Girl!!!
- Phil Leacock Memorial Trail & Loop
- San Antonio Ski Hut Work Party
- Baldy Freak Show (aka: Skiing the North Face)
- Tyndall in a Day
- Shepherd Pass
- Baldy Aerial View
- Previewing the Apocalypse
- Chair 9, Dust, Winter Storm Watch
- Black Iron Bowl
- Hasty Search
- On the Chairlift
- The Importance of Self Rescue
- Avalanche Rescue Course
- Mount Baldy – North Face & Dare Chute
- Memory Lane: Arizona Snow Bowl
- Gold Hill No. 9
- Revelations
- San Francisco Peaks
- Snow Camping – Sleeping Pad Comparison
- Baldy Bowl – Hourglass Chute
- San Jacinto Peak: East Face
- Snow!
- Winter Back on Vacation
- On the Beach
- Mount Harwood — Northeast Ridge
- The Ski Pole Belay
- Skiing Baldy Bowl
2008
- Baden-Powell
- A Christmas Storm
- Smoke at Sunrise
- Falling Headfirst Down an Ice Cliff
- Down Bags: GoreTex vs. Microfiber
- What Lies Beneath
- PCT: Onion Valley to Cottonwood Pass
- God, I Love the Smell of HDPE in the Morning…
- Dept. of Propaganda: BPA Facts.org
- Review: WALL-E
- Whitney Fish Hatchery Destroyed
- Lone Pine Peak: Another Look
- North Palisade: the U-Notch Couloir
- March, April, May: ‘Driest Ever’
- Sierra Snow Update
- Traveling in Bear Country
- Rain, Hail, Lighting, Snow…Tornado?
- How to Melt Snow for Water
- Pine Sap Party
- Williamson Still Hard
- Female Athletes and ACL Tears
- Birch Mountain Marathon
- Williamson: Notes from the Field
- Nalgene Phases Out Lexan
- Tandem Skiing
- Lone Pine Peak – East Couloir
- Whitney Portal Road: ‘Closed’ vs. Closed
- Mt. Baldy – North Face
- Route 2 – Mt. Waterman Report
- Skiing Palmyra Peak
- Mountain High Avalanches – Incident Report
- Interview: Amber Seyler – ‘A Dozen More Turns’
- Home Again, Home Again
- The Milk Run
- Black Iron Bowl: Elevation
- Telluride Dining Guide
- Cucamonga Peak: South Face
- San Gabriel Backcountry Warning
- Interlude: the Beach
- West Baldy Sunset Cruise: Mesmerizing
- Mt. Baldy Ski Area — With Snow
- 3 Avalanche Fatalaties in San Gabriel Mts.
- Storm Watch
- I Lost My Spot!! (sort of)
- West Baldy Report
- Scouting Baldy’s North Face
- “I am a Lucky Man…”
- Complexity Theory: Judgment Day is Inevitable
- Greenland Uncertainty
- Storm of the Half-Century
- $100 Oil and the Stupid Monkeys
- Observations
2007
- Grand Canyon: Walter Powell Route
- How Toxic is Your Sunscreen?
- Barcroft Research Lab Open House
- An Owens River Resurection?
- Mount Whitney — the Mountaineer’s Route
- Bloody Bike-n-Ski
- Epic Tents and Rain
- Ski Touring the South Lake Region
- Mount LeConte – High & Dry
- El Nino or El Nada?
- Skiing Abineau Canyon—Sort of
- Mount Baldy Report: Bleak
- Sierra Winter?
2006
- Hiking San Jacinto Peak
- Mount Shasta: Avalanche Gulch
- Shasta Windstorm
- Skiing Williamson's Bairs Creek Cirque
- Mountaineering Terms
- Snowy Thoughts
- Skiing Stockton Flats
- Say It Isn’t So
- National Geographic Returns to Chernobyl
- Flirting with the Girly Man
- Sue Burak: ‘Nervous’
- A Mammoth Blizzard
- Okay, it Rained—a Lot
- Tuttle Creek Shakedown
- Telluride Powder
- A 10,000′ Ski Descent?