Ski Mountaineering The Eastern Sierras
Walk, skin, boot-pack, climb or basically do whatever the hell you want to summit. That’s ski mountaineering. The two mountain disciplines of skiing and mountaineering go hand-in-hand and are also a perfect recipe for a nice day, or multiple days of suffering. Out in California’s Eastern Sierra you will find some of the most stunning alpine peaks in the country. Peaks that provide many opportunities for a good sufferfest.
These images provide a small photographic journey through what I found to be some of the purest and most representative moments for me in the Eastern Sierra.
Walking through mountains with two planks under our feet only to bare our weight. We drank water that is as pure as the snow run-off it came from. Ice axes on packs, layers peeling off faster than the skin of an orange on a hot day. We knew time was running out. The northeast facing couloirs looking like a south face, making us move within this behemoth range faster than anticipated. Conditions were good enough — wet loose slides were still not problematic. Tools in hand, boots smashed into snow as we ascend the choke with the Matterhorn in view. Reaching the top and looking down readying to drop into the leftovers of winter. Thankful for days like this — blue skies and views of gigantic granite. Something that remained absent most of the time during this trip.
