EISPIRATEN

lilbitmo wrote:I stumbled across it this morning on the "Conditions In Wrightwood" blog but they did not post it in the Trip Reports section. Maybe they can transfer it over.

The best shot is when they wake up and look out the tent in the morning - it's virgin snow everywhere.

Just missing the cherry on top.

If they like, they could put a new post in the TR section. Otherwise I'd have to cut up the Snow in Wrightwood thingy to make it fit.

EnFuego wrote:Sewellymon - I would so love to pack my snowboard to the top and snarf some fresh powder. How awesome would that be? On 18-24 inches fresh powder!!!!

Oh Man- don’t pack the board. Get a split board. Much like (or better than) a snowshoe uphill. Glides and skiis a bit on the mild, odd descent. And shreds almost as good as a one-piece board.

There is a whole sub-culture of bad-azzz Sierra backcounty boarders. Dudes packing way into the back beyond doing first descents. I recall one guy’s TRs- he goes solo over Sierra passes and into the next basin to bag the chute of choice… I’ll try to find the TR’s and post up.. .

Of course the real way to travel the San Gorgonio’s winter northern realms terrain is with AT or telemark skis. Steep chutes and descents galore. Plus- the tree skiing is some of the best anywhere (localism pride beaming here… ). I dunno if you ski well? No matter. I was never a lift-skier, so when I started backcountry skiing, lots of my adventures were of the “ski in a straight line and crash when I need to turn” variety. But not hard to learn the skills..

I had a skinny pair of racing skis, so I’d sometimes boogie up the Poopout Hill road and into South Fork Meadows in perhaps 75 minutes up and about 25 minutes back (the descending vibe on that terrain much like how it feels on a mountain bike, in a way.. .

I also sometimes hauled a special ski sled (which I bought to haul kids) up to Dry Lake. Was actually easier to sled up 35 lbs up than ski pack with it. Also easier to descend. Skiing downhill with a heavy pack usually involves more crashes then lightly loaded. But doable. I think I got good enough I could descend from Dry Lake with few or no crashes fully loaded.

Also did some epics. Forsee Ridge to San Bernardino Peak to Gorgonio and down to Poopout Hill is the classic.

But the best days on Gorgonio were either the fresh powder in the trees (anywhere from about 10,500’ down to 8,000’), or the spring corn snow up on the Big Draw.

Get after it, man!

Great TR! Thanx for sharing the adventure through your words. Quite an accomplishment any way you look at it.

asabat wrote:That was my thought when one pic showed 3 packs but only one shovel. If the guy with the shovel gets buried what do you use to dig him out?

And don't forget the avy beacons. (I'm just a little paranoid.)

asabat - hey there. We actually had two shovels on this trip. One shovel was removed from the pack to scrap a level platform for the tent. The other shovel wasn't needed at 3am. Avi beacons are cool to have, but we didn't have any - at least not on this trip. It's always good to be paranoid.

we were aware of the avalanche danger. believe me, i'm not one to take things lightly. Actually, I know the pictures don't show it very well but we stayed on the ridge to the west side of the chute

Nice going guys! Traveling above Dry Lake without snowshoes is damn tough with fresh snow.