How To Ski & Ride The Eastern Sierra, CA | 1. Ice Cream, 2. Hot Springs, 3. Ski & Ride

Miles Clark |
Dana Plateau Couloirs
Dana Plateau Couloirs last week.

There’s a plethora of options on an Eastern Sierra ski trip.  So, you need to focus.  Know the classics and tick them off.

To start with, there are 3 mandatory experiences on any Eastern Sierra ski trip:  Jolly Cone, Mono Cone, and the Mobile Mart.  Don’t mess this up, please.  People will laugh at you.

mono cone, Mono Cone, MONO!
mono cone, Mono Cone, MONO!

The best food is likely at Mobile Mart.  Yes, a gas station has the best food in the Eastern Sierras.  But this is no ordinary gas station.  Mobile Mart is the what’s what of the Eastern Sierra displaying the who’s who.  Why?  Because it’s excellently located at the junction of 395 (the Eastern Sierra highway) and 120 (Yosemite’s legendary Tioga Pass road).  This crossroads attracts climbers, skiers, mountaineers, German bike gangs, dirt bikers, all the passionate outdoor people looking to get theirs in the springtime in the Eastern Sierra.  Mobile Mart is the ideal place to gather data from humans about the adventure you’re planning on.

German motorcycle gang at the legendary Mobile Mart in Lee Vining, CA
German motorcycle gang at the legendary Mobile Mart in Lee Vining, CA.  You can see the mountains of Tioga Pass sticking up in the background.

Jolly Cone is in Bridgeport, CA and Mono Cone is in Lee Vining, CA.  Get ice cream for sure and we highly recommend the Chicken Bacon Swiss Sandwich at Mono Cone.

The lazy river is 99F this year due to low snow runoff. It's $$.
The lazy river is 99F this year due to low snow runoff. It’s $$.

Secondly, there’s the hot springs and hot rivers.  Yes, 20-foot wide, 100F rivers.  They are located near Mammoth Airport and near Bridgeport and generally all over the Eastern Sierra.  Get naked, get weird, get naked and weird.  Or don’t.

Jeremy Bensen in Kidney Lake Chute off Tioga Pass, CA. photo: greg burnett
Jeremy Bensen in Kidney Lake Chute off Tioga Pass, CA last week. photo: greg burnett

Finally, there’s the skiing and riding.  It’s abundant, plentiful, ubiquitous, and everywhere.  Guide books on these zones abound but all you really need to know is this:  drive to the top of the passes, look around, pick a line, and ride it.  9,945′ Tioga Pass (hwy 120), 9,624′ Sonora Pass, and 8,736′ Ebbetts Pass, and Virginia Lakes Road are the spots.

Chute Out in Ellery Bowl off Tioga Pass last week.
Chute Out in Ellery Bowl off Tioga Pass last week.

The best time of year for all this adventure is springtime right when the passes/Mono Cone opens.

Climbing up the last pitch of Ellery Bowl yesterday
Climbing up the last pitch of Ellery Bowl off Tioga Pass last week.

Good luck, have fun, and send me pictures.  Seriously, send the pics: contact@snowbrains.com

Skiing off tioga pass last week. photo: greg burnett.
Skiing off tioga pass last week. photo: greg burnett.

For the latest Eastern Sierras conditions reports, please visit:

SnowBrains Eastern Sierras Conditions Reports:

Eastern Sierra Backcountry Conditions: Virginia Lakes | May 4th

Tioga Pass Report: Ellery Chute & General Scouting | May 2nd

The ole drop-trou-ski-rack-tuck at Ellery Bowl.
The ole drop-trou-ski-rack-tuck at Ellery Bowl.

Tioga Pass Reports | May 1st: False White Peak | May 2nd: Kidney Lake Chute & Mt. Gibbs

Tioga Pass Backcountry Report: North Peak & Mt. Conness May 1st

Posted by Miles Clark |

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