Mammoth & Surrounding Area
Slaying the Solstice to Moon Crescent & the Sinister Sisters – 07/24/11
Better Than Expected…
Date:
July 22nd-July 24th, 2011
Location: Tioga Pass, Yosemite, CA to Moon Crescent Couloir off of Roundtop to The Sisters near Kirkwood, CA
Solstice Couloir, Mt. Dana…
Moon Crescent (Roundtop) and The Sisters area…
Weather: Bluebird…no wind
Riders: Skier666, Powdork, Dblatto, and S.P.C
Powdork….
666, Dblatto & S.P.C
Cameraman:
666 & Powdork
POV VIDEO – Slaying the Solstice to Moon Crescent & the Sinister Sisters….
Slaying the Solstice to Moon Crescent & the Sinister Sisters – 07/24/11 from skier666 on Vimeo.
Music: Wilkinson – Refugee
Synopsis:
It was a weekend full of sun, warmth and bluebird skies. Powdork and I decided to take a long boulder-hopping walk up to the Solstice Couloir on Friday, followed by two days of sessions with S.P.C and Dblatto over near Roundtop and The Sisters. MildBill thought we were nuts, but that just gave us more energy. As it turned out, we enjoyed a ton of uphill, but encountered decent skiing, great views, and a fair amount of exercise. Dare I say ‘better than expected?’
Java Porn: Caffeinated Shot Bloks
July 22nd, 2011:
Driving up Tioga and a view of a mound of rock with some ice…
Ellery area coming into view…
Our hike begins…
Getting closer…yet still miles away
Time to put on the crampons…Powdork makes a quick transition.
So much AWESOME exercise!
My view…
666 gets aggressive…
Nice views of a dying winter…
Mono oh Mono….
I didn’t feel comfortable scaling this puppy, so we dropped from below…
Powdork begins his dash back to work…
Get after it man, you earned it!
Its my turn…not a bad line for July 22nd!
Actually quite smooth as well…
Have I mentioned that enjoy skiing down more than the uphill?
Woot ‘r’ us…
This spot will work well for a lunch break before I venture up the Plateau to my Ellery descent…
n3rD…..
Just looking at this dried up all my sweat…
Dana Couloir, Mt. Dana, and Solstice Couloir….
Now atop Ellery, there lies the ‘no fall zone.’
Descent #2 looks a bit longer eh?
Dropping’…
That chute looks smooth….
….July 22nd faceshot
Mid toilet bowl…..
Done skiing for the day!
July 23rd, 2011:
After little convincing, dblatto and S.P.C battled the mosquito clan to rally from Woods Lake to Roundtop.
We are such great friends…skiing just does that to people.
S.P.C is a mountaineer….
Dblatto does some stretching below the Moon Crescent ascent…
666 takes a nap…
We headed up the looker’s left line…
S.P.C wished he had my crampons…
They definitely help..haha
Come on boys!
From the Summit, some nice views…
You can see a lot from 10,000 feet near Lake Tahoe….
‘Hey look, someone brought up my skis!’
Dblatto goes for a ski….
He survived and met up with S.P.C who didn’t wait for my camera…
I might as well give it a go…
Gosh, this is fun…
Next, we traversed over to the Sisters….the view from behind to the South.
S.P.C hates hiking…
…but is a handsome ski model, so he has no choice.
Backside of Kirkwood is shown….
S.P.C takes some SuperG turns….
…on better than expected snow
Dblatto thinks we are at NASTAR…
…and skis down a corn field.
S.P.C continues his descent….
I went down a sliver….why not?
Interesting snowpack….
Dblatto heads down to Roundtop Lake…
…he even made turns…
Definitely and East Coast style….
S.P.C sprayin’…
Leroy, lets do this…
Success!
Time to check out the glissading down to the car…
Tele-glissade is SO hot right now…
Planking on a plank….
‘you do know that will dehydrate you?’
July 24th, 2011:
Back to Sisters with a mission…first up was the corn
then a traverse….
across a bowl…
to transition into spikes that attach to my Tecnicas.
I think this will do….
Powdork showed up to yell obscenities at me from across the valley…
Yippie…skiing.
It was DEEP!
Another traverse to the left yielded another line…
…such a fun walk…
So fresh and so clean….
Did I mention ‘better than expected?’
I left my signature…
…this one is just my pee trail.
Powdork and friends skiing down to Winnemucca Lake….
Time to cross this thing…
666 needed his Comis…
Rinsed…
Kirkwood, CA – July 24th, 2011 @ 2pm
…Good Times!
Elegant Ellery & Getting Mortal @ Mammoth – 06/23/11
#SUMMER SKIING!
Date:
June 22nd – 24th, 2011
Location: Yosemite (Tioga Pass/Ellery Bowl) and Mammoth Mountain, California. (in the white section due East of SF)
Weather: Blue skies, warm temps, and no wind. (You can see Kirkwood down there..mid-June 2011)
Skier:
Skier666
Cameraman:
666
POV VIDEO – Elegant Ellery & Getting Mortal @ Mammoth
Elegant Ellery & Getting Mortal @ Mammoth – 06/23/11 from skier666 on Vimeo.
Music: Marcus Intalex – ‘Celestial Navigation’
Synopsis:
It is now the Summer Solstice of 2011…and we finally have some summer weather to get in some proper summer skiing! Tioga Pass opened from East to West through the Sierra on June 18th, 2011. With a family Tahoe trip planned for the following weekend, a solo drive through Yosemite was in order to document the record snowpack. As luck would have it, I was greeted to 100 F valley temps and perfect blue skies with a cool yet still warm 58F at the highest spot near the East Gate.
After a quick evening ski on Ellery Bowl, it was time to shred a full day at Mammoth in my glorious lonesome. Without a previous night’s freeze, the snow was already ripe for attack at 7:30am. The day consisted of lapping the morning groomers, to covering the upper boundaries from the Upper Gondola to Phillipes. Suncups were minimal and the halfpipe was cut to perfection (for June 23rd). Once in Tahoe, the family boat was backed into a lake called Tahoe….and by that, Summer officially began.
Java Porn: Espresso and water in a can….
June 22nd, 2011:
The East Bay hills are finally turning their true colors…
Time to crank the heater in Tracy!
On Hwy 120 through Yosemite, there were plenty of scenes like this…
This is a Dome rising out of Yosemite Valley…
These are rock formations created a couple years ago…
This lake is actually not real, it’s a mirage for the tourists….
Stone factories…
Dana Meadows in a late June ice age….
A very calm stream….
I asked the Ranger to turn off the bubbles, but he said they lost that ability to budget cuts…
Ellery Bowl now in sight @ 7:45pm…
The chutes bask in the Solstice sunset…
Ellery Lake still looking quite cold…
I decided to hike up for a better view…
Figured that I should bring my skis, why not?
It was now 8:45pm and it was getting quite dark rather quickly, so I made my descent…
Minimal suncuppage….
A left turn…
This kid made sure I made it down safely, so I waved….
June 22nd, 2011:
Its Mammoth Summer Skiing Time!
Groomers were amazing…
Perfect Corn…groomed….first thing in the morning…
It was so good that I skipped my morning coffee….
Off-piste was almost the same….
So I decided it was time to hit up P4 to Phillipes…
Smooth like Brandy…
Pretty much have to add this shot into the TR for a 2011 reference…
A short hike to Chair 23 kept out, well, everyone….so I did a few more laps
A good day…
Even the brown snow was good….
Weeeeeee….a halfpipe!
Phillipes was way more filled in than this time last year…
Good times…
No dirt skiing on the descent!
Just make sure you out-ski that slush slough…
Chair 23….lonely.
Near Hangman’s….
Another lap through the pipe….
…and its goodbye Mammoth!
395 North….
Bridgeport has the views….
Tallac on June 23rd, 2011…
Early morning baby wake-up photo opportunity…June 24th, 2011
Golf with the Mrs….
Jaunt over to West Shore…
The Cobalt is maxed out at 6220 ft….
Lake and mountain…
Mountain and lake….
A plane lands…on water.
Bye Bye
Spectacular Sunny Summer Skiing in the Splendid Sierras, CA – 06/20/10
Kalifornia Skiing June 2010!
Dates:
June 12th-20th, 2010
Locations: California Sierra Nevadas. Pinpoint locations include Kirkwood, Mammoth Mountain, Tioga Pass (near Mt. Dana) and Sonora Pass.
Weather: mostly B-L-U-E-B-I-R-D
Skiers:
Skier666, Some KW patrollers, Spats, GDS, Schralph Macchio, Driver, Abominable Snowman, The Dad…
Cameramen:
666, Schralph Macchio, Abominable Snowman
POV VIDEO – Not too bad for Mid to late June….
Spectacular Sunny Summer Skiing in the Splendid Sierras, CA – 06/20/10 from skier666 on Vimeo.
Music: S.P.Y – ‘Xenomorph’ – forthcoming 12" on Metalheadz
Synopsis:
Below you will find pretty pictures of the melting snowpack of 2009/2010 in Northern California. Starting with a morning wind-filled ski tour at Kirkwood on June 12th, and concluding with a trip to Leavitt Peak on the 20th, we managed to accomplish almost everything on the agenda. With a South Lake Tahoe bachelor party slated from 1pm on Friday the 18th through the 19th, of which I can’t seem to find any photos (ha ha ha), a couple days of skiing before and after was officially scheduled. Items included a look at Solstice Couloir off of Mt. Dana (Tioga Pass), some lift served at Mammoth Mountain ski field, a hungover skin up to the Wall at Kirkwood, and a full day of touring at Sonora Pass.
Java Porn: Double Shot light – a 4-pack is a road warrior’s best friend…..
How about showing you some skiing…?
Kirkwood, CA – June 12th, 2010:
Early bird gets the cool shots…Carson Pass:
Hmmm, didn’t see clouds in the forecast….
The last of the roadside frozen lakes? Yep, it was gone a week later.
Kirkwood has been closed for a month and a half…
I think we should b-line to the sunny areas…
We skin up a groomer….always makes me laugh…
Getting closer, but also getting colder…not good for the Cirque mission…
Eagle Bowl ridge….frozen solid.
‘It’s a hurricane out here, let me in!’
So nice and cozy….well, too cozy. This will be our home for an hour…
This may be our line, but we should check out our intended line off the top of the cirque….at least to see if the snow will soften…
Spats runs up to the moon…
666 tells the young kid that this is an ExTr3m3e area…
Too windy to prove in this shots, but we decided to ski something safer…
A look to the South….in the direction of Mexico…
Spats goes for some firm delight behind ‘99 steps’…
GDS takes a much needed sunny line off the Wall…
‘Kinda firm’….not really waist deep.
Spats drops in….
And lays one down in minimal suncups….
GDS is too relaxed…
But as a young adult, his form is definitely improving.
Spats on the way to Buckboard…
666 had no idea that groomers could be so fun in mid-June….
Top to bottom coverage, GDS is rewarded with an apple juice for his efforts…
MaMmOtH mounTain – June 17th, 2010
Decided to hit Mammoth on a random Thursday in the middle of June, and funny enough , I get on the first chair with two Kirkwood patrollers on Moment Skis. Small world….
Off piste run numero uno….
Chair 23 was The Hotness….
You need to go deep to find the powder….
Told you….
Its as deep as it looks…ie, no photoshop.
Hiking DOWN into P4….
It doesn’t actually go, but we’re still going for Phillipes….
WE SURVIVED! OMG…(the POV video shows the snow quality)
Time to open it up in the suncups….
A look to the South….in the direction of Chile….
A scenic roundabout…
Token shot…
Back to corn farming…
‘The Dad’ had a buddy from Palo Alto fly him in for the day…and here’s proof:
I think we did a proper painting job….
BYE BYE Mammoth….
Tioga Pass, Mt. Dana, Solstice Couloir attempt – June 18th, 2010
With a golf game slated for 1pm in South Lake Tahoe, an early morning attempt to see if the Solstice Couloir cornice had melted out….if not, we would have to ski back to the car parked near the Eastern Yosemite gate.
Dana with Solstice on lookers right (internet photo)
Might as well just boot up this, skins aren’t going to help….
After about 2 hours or so…here’s the internet beta of Solstice Couloir as of June 18th, 2010….looks fun…but can we get in safely?
Hmmm….not from up there…
Little cliffy right here….
A week or two earlier, that apron towards where the photoguy was standing would have been sweet….sadly, it’s a no go.
Looking North towards British Columbia…
Winter vs Summer: FIGHT!
The swimming pool is still not open to the public….
Looking South towards New Zealand…
Dana Plateau….sunbathing…
Mono Lake Madness…
I took a swim in the salt water just so I’d feel refreshed for my 2 hour drive to golf…
This is a picture of my camera taking pictures while taking a nap on the salt bed…
Wow, a two sport day….
This is the best pic I got from the Bachelor Party…SORRY!
Kirkwood, CA – June 19th, 2010
After around 3 hours of sleep, and waking up early with a bunch of 30-somethings dead all over the rental….a trip to Starbucks and a solo hike up the Wall was in order…
…oh, I also left my camera on the roof the car and had to drive back to the Caples Lake Dam….that wasn’t so fun, and the camera…well…I’m still waiting to get a battery to see if it works…IDIOT!
View of Round Top from the new bathrooms at the lower Carson Pass parking lot…
Kirkwood….10am…summer is finally winning the battle at the lower elevations….
They were nice enough to plow me a skin-track ¾ of the way up the Wall…
Making it this far in a hungover state without any problems = good sign
…and ready to drop, not too shabby for June 19th. (Check the POV for the descent)
Back in Tahoe….I was out for a run but this got in the way…
You can see an Eagle in those Falls…
A pier…much more fun after a rum-runner or two….
SOnORa PasS – June 20th, 2010
I left Tahoe at 5:30am to meet a few diehards at the top of Sonora Pass. The plan was to ski the ‘Y Couloir’ and possible ‘Deadmans’…but with 5 other people, we began our uphill battle a little on the late side….
‘How the hell to touring bindings work?’
First ridge done, now just a short walk to that Leavitt Peak on the left…
Getting closer, just need to skin up that bowl….so easy.
Schralph….the typical snowboarder…
Base camp….
….whoa…trippy!
Do you know that its easier to skin up to the summit over those rocks than walk?
Summit log…misspellings everywhere, must be the altitude….
Summit of Leavitt Peak looking towards Peru….
I think this will do….
666 checks his entrance…
GDS drops in and gets some smooth steep corn on the cob….
GDS concentrating too hard…
Not too bad…for a kid.
…a kid…with energy and no reason to stop….
Driver drops in….
I’m assuming he’s a steep skier….
…enjoying himself? Only Driver will know….
666 encounters some loose granular at the entrance of the ‘Tube’…
But then, its groomer snow….
He told me that he had a good time…
Schralph gets into the mix…
…it’s this new sport called ‘snowboarding’….like a skateboard but with now similarities….
‘Hang 20 brah’…..
GDS gets binding deep at the exit…
Schralph….waiting for Karate Kid IV, not some lame remake…
666 showing off the red coat he bought off of Slim….
GDS takes a turn to the saddle….
Abominable was also there….a little tired…but he was there…
…I mean, its not like there’s obstacles in his way…heh
Schralph and 666 (cough…the real men of the group) take another hike for some extra vertical….
Nice view looking towards Alaska…
Oh hell yeah….this is going to be good….
…dare I say even on a snowboard?
If you squint, it could almost look winterish…
WhoooooooooooooooooSH!
That snowboarder again…
666 LOVES the groomer zone to the river…
Look at that jackass….
Maybe you should make sure that your skis are connected before crossing the warm river….
Driver found the other one….WOOT!
BYE
bYe
3 the Hardway – Firmpack Chronicles Vol I – 01/20/08
Dates:
January 18th, 19th, & 20th, 2008
Locations:
Mammoth & Kirkwood, California – Home of the worlds finest firmpack
Weather:
Still firm, but the decent snow under the crust layer is starting to come back to the surface. Firm, sunny, windy, more sun, no wind, no sun, flat-light, firm, then snow showers on departure. I’ll give you a link to that day at the end…….it wasn’t THAT good.
Masons:
666, Zippy, Skimoore, JMetzler, Supu, Gerome, Lou, JJ, AKbruin and others
Surveyors:
666, Zippy, JMetzler, and Skimoore.
Music: Burial – Archangel
—————————————————————-
Synopsis:3 Days of Sierra Skiin’
Zippy and I decided to roll to Mammoth on Friday…well…just to ski something different. You know, to get some new point of views and perspectives on life and mountains. After delivering some M1s to some Kirkwoodo extremo contesto dude named Craig, we headed to the land where LA meets the rest of the world. We found most of all the steep lines blown to bits, but managed to ride from one boundary to the other.
The next day we were off to Kirkwood, the place that ometimes time forgets. With friends in town, the groomers make up most of the morning plot until Zippy arrives to test my might for flight. Conditions are firm, but much better than expected….so basically, not as firm.
Sunday, the ‘spin cycled cut off low’ is approaching but the firm is still in effect. JMetzler, skimoore, gerome, supu, JJ all make it out to burn the rust off their edges.
MAMMOTH:
The cold, crisp view from Bridgeport…
The drive leads us to a fog-laden lair near Mono Lake….
Zippy heads for a Dragon’s Back…
But finds some windblown instead…
Did I mention that it was really windy on the ridgetop?
At least there’s no moguls….
Zippy finds some winter snow…leveled by the wind.
Over near the boundary…Zippy finds some untracked POWDER!
But he’d rather jump over it….
The view from chair 23…..always nice, always evil.
Zippy near Philippes….
666 gets thirsty for Steeps…
…Steep concrete that is!
yep, a failed parking lot carve….
Saturday:
Hello Kirkwood Marketing Dept, my name is 666, and I take photos of Zippy in RAW
This shot is from the kids or, adult, or………well, the Kirkwood halfpipe…
666 likes exposure…
because that’s where the best snow is located…
Zippy likes carving down steeps too…
Even in firm conditions, we still hit jumps…
DOESN’T THIS LOOK SOFT?????????
‘No Zippy, that’s not a quarter down there, keep traversing….’
We rolled everywhere….how’s some Big Jims for a change?
Kids halfpipe….wHy NoT?
Last piece of powder before the next storm? Sure!
Rails after tuning your skis the night before? Priceless……
666 tests to see if the concrete is dry….
He finds an air bubble that needs to be flattened…
Got it…
Sunday:
On the chair at 8:55am doesn’t disappoint…
JMetzler getting GnArLy……..
He erupts out of the rock….
666 gets some pixelated air via skimoore’s camera skillz…..
JMetzler was on a roll from 9:00AM….what was in his cup of java?
The aliens arrived….
Skimoore finds great snow under Norm’s on a bulletproof day…
666 does his best to soften his landing….
JMetzler emulates Eric Pehota….
666 needs some more tricks…
This one is pretty Zbo-ish……
Zippy gets in one last turn before suicide…
Skimoore, again, proving that he can carve…..
Zippy located a launch pad…
Zippy summons Big Air Moseley…
Steep winter snow in Oops? Hell ya’
JJ flashes a line in a Moment (s) time…..
Skimoore scares me….
…because look at his takeoff tracks on the flat little number…
But the guy sure gets a lot of support from Lou…
Park? Why not!
Sisters Chute…A twisted angle for this sister.
Surprise…today is turning out to be FUN@#$%
Supu shows us what he learned in Indo….
Gerome then exhibits the new 10-11 Tanker without edges….
"How firm is it?"
Zippy, meet Scott Schmidt…
Gerome is on tele….for the first time….what does he do here?
Kids halfpipe…..why not!
First off-piste tele turn….YESSS!
Zippy has trouble staying on the ground….too many cola Shot Bloks
Supu helps the oncoming storm by throwing some snow into the air…
A couple cars trying to leave town without chains….
P I Z Z A H H H H H H H H H H H !
Oh, and the next day went like this……
FULL TR by SUPU……
http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110026
Damn Supu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over and out….
…
..
.
‘STOKE’….the Mid-May 07′ CA Mega TR (Mammoth, Sonora Pass & KW Cirque) – 05/13/07
DATES:
May 11th-13th, 2007
PLACES WITH SNOW TO SCHUSS DOWN:
Mammoth Mountain, Tioga Pass recon shoot, Sonora Pass (Mt. Leavitt, etc) and the infamously, always permanently, seriously, and humorously closed Kirkwood Cirque.
FRIENDS OF GRAVITY:
666, Zippy, Sierra Cement, Bcrider, Slim, and Hairy (who appeared out of the sulfur pits of Mammoth)
WEATHER:
How does bluebird, 50 F, no wind, and corn snow without suncups sound?
****CAUTION****
If above sounds horrible, click back on your browser of choice now!
SYNOPSIS:
Arrive to South Lake from SF at 12:45 am on Friday morning, day-trip-it’ from SLT to Mammy, Sonora, and KW Cirque respectively the following days, ski, and basically, buy a ton of gasoline….high octane of course.
Mammoth total snowfall = 231”
Kirkwood total snowfall = ~ 385”
Sonora Pass total snowfall = let’s say ~300”
MUSIC: Well….S L A Y E R
Slayer – “Angel of Death”
DAY ONE: MAMMOTH, CA (an area where one accesses the terrain via lifts)
The objective was to burn the rust of my shredded Gotamas via the groomed run system, and then bend some edges skiing over to the Paranoids, etc in order to punish some wide open corned bowls & chutes.
….but something strange happened. As I rode a lift, alone of course, a gothic yet animalistic creature appeared on a pair of Blizzards. It was then that I was in the presence of Hairy, the mythical being from the Eastern Sierra. Many have read about him, few actually seen him in first-person….ladies and gentlemen….he is real.
Ooooooh, Ahhhhhh. The Sawtooths and Beef (its what’s for lunch) as viewed from Bridgeport….
Another rare summer viewing of a winter creature…..yes, a snowcat:
The park was in a medium showing. Couple rails, few medium tables, one large table, and a pretty pathetic, although lengthly, pipe for Mammoth’s standards.
The upper mountain is accessed via the Gondola…
Sad year for Da Noids, but worth the hike for the epic corn steeze…
Stump Alley was nothing short of amazing…probably due to the fact that only about 40 people were at Mammoth on Friday. That’s right folks….let em’ run!
What’s the word? Ah yes, obligatory.
As one looks to the South….he finds snow and mountains.
This guy popped out of nowhere. I told him I wanted gnar. He smiled and then I followed….
Chair 23 goodnessssssssssssssssssss….
Smooth snow, and some obstacles…
Just what the doctor ordered…
As prescribed by Dr. Hairy.
…..and yes….Hairy in motion….on skis.
Over to the Paranoids to access Phillipes…little tricky.
Don’t plan on skiing form the top, I got the middle finger form my Gotamas…
But well worth it if you ask me….
Hairy got some vid-caps on the epic descent…
Warning though, little air towards the end….I suggest allowing time to thaw.
Aggressive FUN skiing!
Did I mention that we saw few if any of the human race after 1pm…?
Mammoth…all to ourselves. Can be yours until Memorial Day.
….and Hairy approved.
Figured I’d help the Tioga Massive by taking some recon shots…not looking worth it if you ask me…but who am I but a Tioga jong.
Lots of vertical, little snow…
DAY TWO: SONORA PASS, HWY 108, EASTERN SIERRA, CALIFORNIA
Four people, 5 cameras….not a small task even for a veteran TR geek.
2 weeks earlier…we did this:
http://www.slaythegnar.com/2007/04/sleepless-at-sonora-pass-mt-leavitt-ca-042707/
*Video – HD Video by bcrider (includes various shots from both outings)
After a sleepover eating candy and playing Mega-Man 2 on NES with Bcrider, we departed to Sonora at 5:15 am…
Of course, with the proper driving materials…
Time, 7:51 am – Sierra Cement contemplates on how skins actually work…
Zippy on the other hand got his off an 18 Wheeler…
And the Mid-May playground after a shitty season comes into view…
666 does his favorite 80’s dance up the Mars landscape known as Sonora…
No-Name peak…you know, if you want to do laps up and down to your SUV.
The boys start to bond rather quickly…
Zippy scratches some early morning Bluetooth…
Sierra Cement is anti-switchback when skinning…I hate him.
That’s how he was able to get this pic of us ‘normal folk’…
Bcrider scopes a line we didn’t see two weeks ago…
Zippy scouts the “Y”…
Here is a view of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range of California…
We decide on the Paris Hilton sized chute…
Sierra Cement paves away…
Zippy links some turns while listening to Hot Chip….
Splitboard dot what?
CA Chutin’…..
Zippy, again, in the Moment…on skis.
Schusssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, Schusssssssssssssssssssssssssssss……
666 down the crux…
Bcrider takes shooting chuting way too seriously….
666 down the gut…of Ms. Hilton
And Zippy zips down the fan….
666 goes to Kansas…
Mr. Electro at 150 bpm….
He switched tracks during this turn….amazing.
The knuckle dragger is on deck….
Ok, I’ll admit it, it sort of looks cool….
666 – up to evil things…
Mr. Cement prefers cement that is not quick drying….
Mr. AD-HD…
Zippy heads to lunch….
…quad-shot express
Nap time for Zippy’s longest tour to date…
666 dreams about taking off his boots…
Off to Dead Man’s Chute…
Ummmm…..getting a little steep guys.
There’s always one in the group…
666 was tired…he told me so.
Who is the dork? He’s not with us is he?
All digital music here….sadly, no cassette walkmen.
What would a couloir TR be without a tip-shot…?
666 gets first tracks since IT WAS HIS IDEA TO HIKE THIS THING!!!
Of course, he made selfish big turns…
Goth shot…
You are so not hardcore without hard boots?
Zippy remixes that boarder’s line….
And hits #7 on the underground off-piste skiing chart…
Dad takes a turn…..
Rad move dude…
Zippy, only releases on vinyl…
Bcsnowrider….ridin’…having a fun time.
CementMan pops some corn….
Yeah dude….now throw a sick method
Zippy spins his tracks in reverse…AT style…
The line of choice…well I chose it, but I’m not going to brag or anything.
Uberdork….on his way to the highway
Leaving his mark for the tourists that think they are on their way to Yosemite…
Poor little guy….he’s pooped.
The bottom face has been SLAYED…
So pretty pretty….
These jerks wouldn’t give us lift back to our cars….people these days.
Nice view of that line I picked out for everyone…too bad it sucked.
In the metropolis of Walker, they have this….
…where you can hand pick from these:
DAY THREE:
Lets stay close to home this time, have normal wake-up hours, and hit Starbucks on the way, shall we? Well then, lets go ski the Cirque at Kirkwood. ITS SO EXTREME THAT ONE CANNOT SKI IT LEGALLY DURING THE SKI SEASON!!!!!
E X T R E M E !
I guess they could still be open…but that would mean using electricity, so forget it.
The forbidden line is the only one that actually ‘goes’….
Slim crosses a chairlift graveyard…
…and soon reaches north-facing Bluetooth during the skin
Captain Xmas reaches the summit with Caples Lake in the background…
666 drops into Carnells…
The snow was so K-factor….
Sub 400 inch years are so hot right now…
Santa sheds the xmas gear….
G N A R ?
Slim stepped it up here….blind straightlines are never relaxing
666 finds heavenly smoothness in mid-Carnells…
….looks terribly carveable
Slim on the same line….
666 pulls a Schmidt…
Then gets hella volcanic….
Slim gets his steep on….WHY IS THIS CLOSED?????????
…and then traverses into an open gem
Aggressive Alpine Skiing? You be the judge.
Looks like someone has been practicing his carves….
Slim says farewell to Kirkwood and rides Thunder Saddle to the car
Of course 666 has the best T-shirt for the Cirque descent….
….Mid-May 07’ Stoke Nerdblog transmission over
Mashing Up Mammoth Mountain Ski Area – 06/11/05
Cue the OC theme music…..
After emailing, PM’ing, texting, and calling anyone that I thought might be interested, as fate would have it, I had to go solo. I almost got Zippy to come along, until I told him what time Mammy opened…..7:00am. And hell, if I’m going to buy a day ticket ($50 US), I’m getting there when they open.
Music: Matrix & Danny J – ‘Telepathy’
I arrived in South Lake on Friday night at around 10:00 pm. Spaghetti dinner and a few Steinlagers later, then go to sleep with the Weather Channel on sleep timer. A few nightmarish dreams of Dave Schwartz (aka "the creeper") of the Weather Channel choking me from my television, I depart to 7-Eleven at 4:00 am. With some needed caffeinated drinks and snacks in hand…I’m on my way to Mammoth at an ungodly hour.
Bridgeport at something like 4:55 am, I’m sure Bcrider is in there somewhere 
Not many cars on 395 this morning, made it an easier than easy drive to do while "thinking" that one is awake at the wheel.
Mammoth Mountain California – June 11th 2005:
Mountains looker’s left of Mammy…
Bloody Couloir, gimpy, Kellie, Greydon Clark, had memorable experiences there in May 04′
Broadway – littered with US Ski Team lemmings looking for gates and concrete snow
Nice shot of Chair 23 in the background
..and concrete snow they got. It really did freeze the night before, at 7:00am it was pretty bullet, at 7:15 am it was a little softer and so on for every run. By 10 am the whole place was pretty much unfrozen except for a few lingering patches on Broadway and on the GS courses they took down and re-opened for the public.
Chair 23 and Philippe’s…more on that later
The Upper park and pipe..
The pipe was definitely not up to Mammoth’s standards….as in mid-winter when the Super-pipe is SUPER. This was more like a Kirkwood pipe at the height of the season….decent but nowhere to being a super-pipe. Once the stragglers finally got out of their El Camino’s and on the hill, a line formed at the pipe on BOTH sides. I have no patience for stuff like that, so I bailed on the pipe and started hitting the upper mountain.
Ahhhhh…the scenery…The Minarets
Directly behind the Top of the Ganjola:
…of course, the sign for all you snow depth whores and a pair of DB skis
Hiked over to Chair 23 – Nelson Carmichael where are you?
The ridge over to Philippes is melted out, but it looked like if I scurried over some shale and brush, I’d get in there and "hopefully" be able to ski it top to bottom.
View of the top section from below:
Into Philippes…a small rocky crux near the bottom, but what’s a few rock-rail slides for a nice chute
From below..good fun line, worth the extra effort to get in there from the top.
Out of the chute, it was fine for about 6 gs turns and then it turned into this:
So yeah, everything else was pretty suncupped. Just FYI – I don’t know how the rest of the BC would be, but if its like this it’ll be horrid with a capital "H".
Some chutes on the way back to South Lake….mmmmmmmmmmmm, looks like there’s some options there.
Mammoth Summit with Smally – 04/30/05
Slim, Smally, and myself rolled into Roberto’s parking lot in Mammoth at around 8 pm or so on Friday night. A few drinks later and a few maggots finally met, we roll to about 5 more bars with the troup leader, Yoga, stringing us along. At the final venue, Smally ends up moshing to the punk band and almost fights a guy 10 times his size, and so we soon roll to the condo to get some needed rest after hiking Carson Pass earlier in the day.
We snuggle into Squirrel’s room on the floor. However, we barely fall asleep beacause of Squirrel’s ever numerous attempts to get us to spoon him on his "King-Size" bed.
In the morning, the S’s: Slim, Smally, Snorkeldeep, 666, Spats, and Squirrel were skiing together for most of the day. A few laps with Shane-O and Arty was as much maggotry we were able to consolidate. At one point there were about 30 maggots at the Gondola mid-station, but the skiing logistics would have been nightmarish, so the S’s toured the mountain.
How about some old Ed Rush & Optical for audio happiness while reviewing the photos?
Here’s what Mammoth looked like:
Lovely, lovely Minarets:
Yosemite…I can see the RV’s and Sanka from here:
BC behind the top of the Gondola:
Chair 23 – REALLY wide-open bowl goodness – lots of winter snow up here.
I drank a pot of organic coffee and then saw this:
More BC looking south off the top of Lincoln:
Smally in Phillipes (Mammoth name noob here, not sure if I’m exactly correct but its the far skiers left off of Chair 23, into lower part of Star Chute)
…And testing his edges:
And then in a typical Smally fashion…climb up into the gnar:
He’s on rock at this point…Squirrel and I get nervous:
Nope, he’s fine…
Smally on Hemlock:
Squirrel stops eating twigs and berries and shows up in front of the camera:
Squirrel coming through "Top of the world" area off the Ganjola:
I followed Smally into the exposed line on looker’s right…got to trust a kiwi:
Spats on top of Star Chute…getting pumped:
Spats on fire…killing lines everywhere on this day:
So now Smally wants to hike up this wall inside lower star chute to hit a straightline on the other side:
…he wants to get his money’s worth on the lift ticket. Squirrel helped him by raising the Bid Daddy’s up the rock face:
A ski patrol was next to me while we watched Smally ski this. He told me that its probable that its never been skied before:
A view from Slim’s camera…rinsin’ it out:
What a wicked day! Nice to meet and ski with some of the maggots.
…and so after the incredibly inept waiter at the Yodeler finally gave us the check..we headed back to Tahoe to hit the closing day of Kirkwood…..the very next day.
Bloody Couloir Eastern Sierra – 05/23/04
We left Carson Pass and headed to Mammoth Lakes to sleep on the dirt. We wanted to hike and ski the Bloody Couloir the next morning
Music: Makoto and MC Conrad – Golden Girl
Kellie’s writeup:
Sunday, Bloody Sunday – the quest for more perfect Sierra spring corn . . .
Now, don’t get me wrong, the view was nice, the hike was cool (as far as 3000 ft. bootpacks in all kinds of snow go), the access road was burly and definitely worthy of the 4WD recommendation it receives and good for a laugh after actually making it up (and down) unharmed, and the eastern Sierras is always a worthy place to visit . . . but I digress.
Gimpy and I met up with Skier666, Greydon Clark, and Sam (I have no idea what your board name is!) in Markleeville after their epic day on Carson Pass (I am sure details are on the way) and were joined by Gimpy’s friend Tim (who happens to be a speed skier in Europe and has once competed in ski ballet!) and headed to the east side. A brief stop at the Mobil Mart for the famed lobster taquitos and we reconnected at the Die Hard church (aka the green church) south of Mammoth, with good intentions of hot springing . . . but said intentions were discarded in favor of camping with coyotes in preparation for the next day.
Sunday was beautiful and awesome to wake up to amazing views of rad lines to ski in all directions (almost). We eventually headed up the Laurel Lakes Rd. (the burliest 4.5 miles I think I’ve taken a vehicle up) and started the hike from snowline, with our goal, the bloody couloir, looming above.
We brought skins, but the snow was “beautifully” solid, rendering said ascension aids unnecessary. Why people do videos called “Buns of Steel” when they could bootpack up couloirs with skis on their backs is beyond me. Skier666 lead the charge up the lookers right side while the rest of us headed up the lookers left . . . and were greeted with a wide array of conditions, which can be lumped into the term “shitty snow” . . . decent for climbing though 
We topped out and were greeted with pretty damn incredible views of Mammoth and Tioga to the north and Red Slate Couloir and Convict Canyon the to the South.
Red Slate (the line on the looker’s left that’s probably screaming your name as well) was definitely beckoning . . .
The view down to the valley and Laurel Lakes was pretty cool too!
After some basking in the wonderfully protected leeward side of the summit(s) (Greydon/Sam were on the skier’s right and the rest of us on the skier’s left . . . we agreed that we all get summit stars), Sam and Greydon dropped in where we had ascended, and Skier666 lead the charge down the left couloir, followed by Gimpy, Tim, and I. I’d characterize the run as steep. The snow was, in a word, challenging. Survival skiing at it’s best and Skier666′s idea of powder, I’m sure
The choke opened up to a somewhat sunny convergence and happy reunion for the remaining lots of feet of descent through somewhat better snow. The conditions were certainly good for a laugh, head shake, and eye roll . . . but the day was worthy for the views, reconaissance ability, and quality time on the east side . . . not to mention quality Maggot time, which may become slim pickings until that happy day when the snow starts flying again
Back at the car, the three man comedy show of Greydon, Sam, and Skier666 took about a half hour to pack the car until they realized that they had packed the key as well . . . and started over.
Despite the non-ideal snow, the day was cool, and it’s great to ski a classic that stares straight at you from the road . . .
Bloody Sunday, yet another Sierra adventure. Thanks for a great, and interesting day, guys!
Skier666′s writeup – - – - -
When you travel, you buy gas. When you buy gas, you pay with some sort of tender. In Bridgeport, California, you sell your soul for fuel.
Bloody, lookers left in the distance, about a 30 min 4X4 trek up to the base of the snow.
With crampons and ice axes in hand, Gimpy, Kellie, Tim, Greydon, and some dude named Sam tried their hardest to keep up with the Skier666. Stairmaster, stairmaster, stairmaster I told them. The hiking conditions? Well, scroll down and you'll see the GNAR.
The last 10 feet was awesome! Post-holing every step into an artic wind was just plain mindblowing.
Looking towards Mono Lake:
Behind Bloody:
The descent, doesn't look that bad from here. As the first person to go, I take one turn and realize the whole meat of the Couloir is now in the shade. Not only was the not even near being considered "good", it was starting to firm up! AWESOME!!!!!
The snow…you've heard about the epic conditions…well check this shit out! We skied down this shit for 2/3 of the descent. It was some to the sketchiest snow I have ever encountered.
Greydon getting stoked on the snow:
Greydon rippin' the pow:
Tim getting the goods:
Gimpy:
The bottom was really fun, I decided to let them rip and pretend it was groomed. It got fairly bumpy at the very bottom but was manageable.
Long day and a long drive yet to come, got the usual Farmer Brother's coffee with 8 packets of crushed NoDoz and headed through Tioga….with dreams of staying to ski off the pass. However, reality was beckoning and 5 hours later we arrived deep in the Mission to drop off Greydon back to his pimp.
