Connect with us

Nevada

Trip Report: 11,161' Mt. Scowden's “Dog Leg Chute” | Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA – SnowBrains

Published

on

Trip Report: 11,161' Mt. Scowden's “Dog Leg Chute” | Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA – SnowBrains


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.

Advertisement

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
Greggy skis. image: snowbrains

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.

Summit selfie. image: snowbrains

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.

Advertisement
Booter. image: snowbrains

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…

Dog Leg Chute on Mt. Scowden, CA. image: snowbrains

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.

Trevor. image: snowbrains

Fox took the lead for the first half of this.

The snow continued deep and manky.

Advertisement

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

Lee splash. image: snowbrains

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

The upper section skied well.

Proper corn.

Greggy bushwhack. image: snowbrains

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.

Advertisement
Fox in Dog Leg. image: snowbrains

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.

Mono Lake. image: snowbrains

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.

Advertisement

Thanks, California!

Dog Leg Chute on Mt. Scowden, CA. image: snowbrains
Greggy crossing the creek. image: snowbrains
Grinding up. image: snowbrains
Da boyz. image: snowbrains
Trevor up. image: snowbrains
Greggy. image: snowbrains
Upper apron. image: snowbrains
Lee grinds. image: snowbrains
Red rock. image: snowbrains
Greggy. image: snowbrains
Lee and Greggy. image: snowbrains
Fox booter. image: snowbrains
Near the top. image: snowbrains
Bootering. image: snowbrains
I have crampons! image: snowbrains
Lee. image: snowbrains
Greggy on top. image: snowbrains
Greggy dropping in. image: snowbrains
Greggy in the choke. image: snowbrains
Greggy skiing. image: snowbrains
Lee shredding. image: snowbrains
Lee log walking. image: snowbrains
Greggy in deep. image: snowbrains
Lee planning his next move. image: snowbrains
Lee cross. image: snowbrains
Latin Market. image: snowbrains
Latin Market is legit. image: snowbrains
Latin Market chicken burrito. image: snowbrains
Free english clases. image: snowbrains





Source link

Nevada

Billionaire Tax Refugees Flock to Ritzy Nevada Lake Town

Published

on

Billionaire Tax Refugees Flock to Ritzy Nevada Lake Town


Naveen Rao, a longtime California resident, ascended to a rarefied tier of wealth last year when his startup, Unconventional AI, was valued at $4.5 billion. The company is based in Palo Alto, but with the specter of anew tax on billionaireslooming over the state, Rao began considering other …



Source link

Continue Reading

Nevada

EDITORIAL: Nevada hurt by California’s anti-fossil fuel crusade

Published

on

EDITORIAL: Nevada hurt by California’s anti-fossil fuel crusade


California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t admit it, but a move by President Donald Trump is especially helpful to drivers in California — and Nevada.

Gasoline prices are pressuring consumers around the country. On Friday, the average U.S. price was $4.55 a gallon. In California, that would be a bargain. The average there was $6.16 a gallon. Nevada’s average was $5.23 a gallon, the result of around 88 percent of the state’s gasoline coming from California.

It might be getting worse — regardless of what happens in Iran.

In recent months, two major California refineries have shut down. That represented a 17 percent reduction in California’s refining capacity. Their closures weren’t caused by the Iran war, but by Gov. Newsom and California’s relentless attacks on fossil fuels.

Advertisement

To make up for the fuel it won’t extract or refine in-state, California depends on imports from foreign countries.

“We are importing 30 percent of our crude oil from the Middle East,” Mike Ariza, a former control board supervisor at the Valero Benicia Refinery, said in an interview. He has been warning the public about California’s potential fuel shortage. “There are not very many ships left on the way that have fuel,” he said last month.

Last week, KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported that “about 2 million barrels of oil are in the process of being unloaded in Long Beach off of the last California-bound tanker that got through the Strait of Hormuz.”

At a California legislative hearing Tuesday, Siva Gunda, the vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, said the state has enough gasoline to accommodate demand for the next six weeks. That’s not a very long time, especially given that it takes weeks or months for oil to travel from the Middle East to California. And that process won’t begin until the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

There is a region, however, with abundant oil available for sale and safe passage — the southeastern United States. Unfortunately, the Jones Act, an antiquated 1920 law, mandates that only U.S.-flagged ships may move cargo between U.S. ports. But only 55 of the more than 7,000 oil tankers worldwide comply with this requirement.

Advertisement

This is where Mr. Trump rode to the rescue. Late last month, the White House announced Mr. Trump would suspend the Jones Act for another 90 days. In March, he originally waived it for 60 days. This will make it easier for California and Nevada to obtain domestic product.

If only Mr. Trump could also suspend the destructive energy policies imposed by Gov. Newsom and California Democrats.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Nevada

Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday

Published

on

Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday


An adoptable pet is in the spotlight for “Furever Home Friday,” with Amy from the Nevada SPCA featured in a segment highlighting an animal available for adoption today.

The Nevada SPCA encouraged viewers looking to add a pet to their family to consider adopting.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending