Report from May 15, 2024

Yesterday we went back to Lundy Lake in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California hoping to find more corn as we did in that zone 2 days prior.

We chose one of the north-facing couloirs off Scowden but it looked beat up with old wet slides.

We then bumped over to the “Dog Leg Chute” and started grinding.

• Summit (actually just the top of the snow in the chute):  10,900 feet
• Car:  8,100 feet
• Vertical From Car:  2,800 feet 
• Vertical skied:  2,800 feet
  
• Max Pitch:  38º
• Average Pitch:  35º
• Aspect:  North then northeast
• Distance:  2.9-miles round trip
• Time From Car to Summit:  2 hours and 55 minutes
• Car to Car Time: 4 hours and 28 minutes
• Recommended Equipment:  skins, crampons, ice axe x2

The first move is a 10 outta 10 bushwhack/creek crossing.

I’d found a pretty clean line through this zone when we were here on May 6 and it delivered.

We got through the madness in only 10 minutes.

It’s so bad in there you mostly have to walk on fallen trees to keep yourself up off the ground and the insanity below.

From there it was a bit of rock walking to get on snow.

Skins and Lee took the lead.

About halfway up the Dog Leg Chute, we switched to crampons.

The snow was already deep and sticky.

It hadn’t frozen the night before…

Or the night before that.

We slogged up in the deep slush and finally escaped the chute after a long grind.

A hard left took us onto the upper apron that leads to the summit.

Fox took the lead for the first half of this.

The snow continued deep and manky.

Lee took over for the last pitch and we topped out after 2 hours and 55 minutes.

We took a healthy break and dropped in before things got any mankier.

The upper section skied well.

Proper corn.

The lower part of the apron got a bit sticky.

Things improved entered the chute before the thing changed aspects to the east.

Once in the true northeast-facing part of the chute, it got so sticky.

The key was to be last and stay right in the other people’s tracks.

That’s what I did…

The final reward was a neat rock-lined chute at the very bottom that took us directly to the creek.

From there it was a bit of a bushwhack to get to the bushwhack that crosses the creek.

Back at the car after 4 hours and 28 minutes.

We zipped directly back to Mammoth hoping for “The Rolling Chef” burritos but the closed on us and we pivoted to “Latin Market” burritos that are always top notch.

Even when the snow is funky, the living is good here on the Eastside.

Thanks, California!

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The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday approved the licensing of media mogul Barry Diller as a director for the MGM Resorts International board of directors.

In a 4-1 vote — the first for new member Abbi Silver — commissioners agreed to license Diller without restrictions after approving a limited two-year license for him in May 2022.

Two years ago, Diller was recommended for approval by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, but between the time of the Control Board recommendation and final commission approval, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an investigation into insider trading allegations against Diller, his stepson-in-law Alexander von Furstenberg and film studio executive and producer David Geffen.

Diller, appearing at Thursday’s meeting online from New York, said the timing of the purchase of stock in videogame company Activision Blizzard, which later was taken over by Microsoft Corp., was coincidental. He said he, von Furstenberg and Geffen considered Activision to be an undervalued company worthy of their investment.

Diller and his attorneys told the commission there has been no further contact from the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department about an investigation into the stock trades.

“This matter has reached the end of the map,” one of Diller’s attorneys told commissioners.

Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey cast the one vote against Diller’s licensing and she said during the 15-minute hearing that while she had no misgivings about Diller’s character and suitability, she preferred a conditional licensing since the SEC left the possibility of a future investigation open.

The SEC’s email to Diller’s lawyer that Diller authorized be made public says, “must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result from the staff’s investigation.”

Diller is the chairman and senior executive of IAC, a holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and internet, and chairman and senior executive of Expedia Group. He is a former chairman and chief executive officer of several companies, including Fox and Paramount Pictures Corp. Diller also serves on the board of The Coca-Cola Company.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.