Conditions Report
Report from June 22nd, 2019
Brought to you by Scott Sports
Skis Used: Scott Super Guide 105
Saturday may have been our last backcountry ski tour of the season…
There was one last chute that we’d wanted to ski off 13,000′ Mt. Dana and it looked spicy.
The chute is named “The Flume” (at least that’s what we named it in situ) and it’s just skier’s left of Solstice Couloir.
We started hiking at about 8:30 up the back of Dana and we were able to find the chute pretty quickly.
Temps were cooler with a hard freeze the night before and firm snow conditions to start the day.
On our way up to the chute, we ran into a nice solo skier named Jen, we invited her to join us, and she did.
The entrance was guarded pretty well by steep walls of snow above a 50º funnel that choked down to about a ski-width wide before opening up into a nice long chute.
I decided to use my shovel and make a channel in the steep snow wall that we could use to walk down into the chute via.
It worked, but that first funnel really was steep…
Jen and Erica charge down the funnel and out into the chute and down the apron.
I followed suit and we were all pretty stoked on having pulled it off smoothly.
The snow in the chute was soft and splashy and we had some moderate sluff.
We then contoured out of Glacier Canyon, up onto the Dana Plateau and over to the top of Chute Out Alternate.
Chute Out Alternate is still too fun and it felt extra spicy yesterday because the snow was a bit more firm that it has been which really made the thing feel steeper.
At the bottom of Ellery Bowl, we exchanged smiles, high fives, words of elation.
I hitchhiked up and grabbed the car up at Tioga Pass and we went straight to June Lake.
The Ohana food truck had just closed (they close at 4pm) so he hit Gordo’s Mexican joint where the beer was cold and the carne asada was hot.
Another simply unreal backcountry day off Tioga Pass.
I’m a bit sad thinking it may have been the last of the year.
2019/20 was my favorite ski season ever.
RECENT EASTERN SIERRA REPORTS:
June 18th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: Ellery Bowl’s “Chute Out” | Tioga Pass
June 15th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: Sluff-Race Down Ripper Chute + Banana Chute | Tioga Pass
June 11th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: Mt. Dana’s Solstice Couloir + Powerhouse Chutes | Tioga Pass
June 6th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: Mt. Dana → Dana Couloir → Power House Chutes | Tioga Pass
June 5th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: Power House Chutes | Tioga Pass, CA
June 4th: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: 12,500′ North Couloir of Mt. Emerson
June 2nd: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: The Third Pillar Chute | Tioga Pass, CA
June 1st: Eastern Sierra, CA Backcountry Report: 1″ of Snow in 20-Minutes at 12,300′ in Zebra Chute
PHOTOS:
Great report and thanks for sharing. Deliberating between Dana and Dunderberg peak. How is the coverage on Ellery bowl? Any beta on Dunderberg peak? I live in East Bay and hence want to make sure I do an objective worth the long drive 🙂 Thanks much!
Hey Subhro, things are melting out quick but Ellery Bowl was still good on Saturday – the day of this report. I haven’t been back since. I haven’t been to Dunderburg this season. North Peak off Tioga might be a fun trip as well. Thanks, Miles
Nice seeing you Miles. Try the Epic Cafe in Lee Vining next time. Unbelievably good. Nice report. Saturday at Mammoth was the best day in quite awhile with the deep freeze the night before.