Benson - Backcountry ski & snowboard routes : California

BACKCOUNTRY
SKI & SNOWBOARD
ROUTES

CALIFORNIA

BACKCOUNTRY
SKI & SNOWBOARD
ROUTES

CALIFORNIA

JEREMY BENSON

To everyone who has shared their knowledge, passion, and expertise, which has aided in my exploration and fueled my enjoyment. To those whove broken trail through these mountains before me and those who will continue to do so after I am gone. To the loving memory of those weve lost pursuing their passions while living life to the fullest who continue to share these mountains with us in spirit.

Mountaineers Books is the publishing division of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134 800.553.4453, www.mountaineersbooks.org

Copyright 2017 by Jeremy Benson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America
Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk
First edition, 2017

Copyeditor: Kris Fulsaas

Series design: Peggy Egerdahl

Cover design and layout: Jennifer Shontz, www.redshoedesign.com

Cartographer: Pease Press Cartography

The background maps for this book were produced using the online map viewer CalTopo.

For more information, visit caltopo.com.

Cover photograph: Enjoying spring powder at the top of Independence Pass, high above the Owens Valley (Oscar Havens)

Frontispiece: Slashing a sunset powder turn down the main Bear Scratch Chute on Herlan Peak (Anthony Santos)

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Benson, Jeremy, author.

Title: Backcountry ski & snowboard routes: California / Jeremy Benson.

Other titles: Backcountry ski and snowboard routes

Description: First edition. | Seattle, Washington: Mountaineers Books, [2017] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017017062| ISBN 9781594858994 (paperback) | ISBN 9781594859007 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: Cross-country skiingCaliforniaGuidebooks. | Snowboarding CaliforniaGuidebooks. | Cross-country ski trailsCaliforniaGuidebooks. | Outdoor recreationCaliforniaGuidebooks. | CaliforniaGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV854.5.C2 B46 2017 | DDC 796.9309794dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017062

Printed on recycled paper

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-59485-899-4
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-59485-900-7

CONTENTS

Kicking up spray on a chalky wind buff in the northeast couloir of Monument Peak (Oscar Havens)

TOURS AT A GLANCE

Heading up for another lap on a classic California bluebird day

INTRODUCTION

Then it seemed to me the Sierra should be called not the Nevada, or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light...it seems to me above all others the Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain-chains I have seen.

John Muir

YOU NEED ONLY TO READ JOHN MUIRS The Mountains of California to gain a deeply passionate insight into and understanding of the beauty and diversity of the mountains in this great state. From the cone-shaped volcanoes of the southern Cascades in the north to the jagged and precipitous eastern escarpment of the Sierra in the southand everything in betweenan astounding number and incredible variety of mountains stretch uninterrupted for more than 500 miles.

Some of the best backcountry skiing and snowboarding anywhere can be found in the mountains of California. Each winter these ranges are blanketed in a glorious white coat of snow, creating a seemingly limitless backcountry ski and snowboard playground with something to suit everyone. In the north, the volcanoes offer long, wide-open pitches ranging from moderate gullies and bowls to steep faces and chutes. The northern Sierra around Lake Tahoe feature an abundance of bowls, glades, and chutes on pitches as mellow or as steep as you can handle. The High Sierra stretch toward the sky with numerous peaks over 14,000 feet and more terrain and descents than you could ever do in a lifetime.

Adventurous backcountry skiers have been laying tracks down California mountains since the 1960s, possibly even earlier, chronicled in the first published ski guidebook for the Sierra, H. J. Burhennes Sierra Spring Ski-Touring, in 1971. Since then, the sport has continued to evolve and grow in popularity, but skiers still flock to the same mountains first skied over a half century ago.

This guidebook provides what I consider to be many of the finest routes and descents throughout the state. The reality is that these tours are just the tip of the iceberg, as there is no limit to the options and remote wilderness peaks in the sea of mountains that is the Sierra Nevada. Ease of access is one of my goals for including the routes described here, virtually all of which can and have been done in a single day, although many of them are well suited to more casual overnight adventures.