Conditions Report
words and photos by Andrew
Drove up from the Bay last Saturday, got a late start….clicked into our skis and started skinning @10am from 9,924-Foot Sonora Pass, CA (hwy 108). Original plan was to head up to No-Name and ski the bowl then head back to the saddle to the east to do more recon than anything as I’ve usually skied the couloirs off Leavitt and then either down Deadmans creek to the hairpin or back up to No-Name and down the main bowl.
Quickly audibled as we saw a group of 10-15 heading up No-Name and went straight for the saddle to the east. First run was an extremely short/mellow tree lined pitch back down to the bench to get a better idea of how the snow was skiing. Regained the saddle and then yo-yoed down the gully off the back, up the next ridge (see last photo in post) and then up the original gully before boot packing and some scrambling over rocks to gain the ridge a bit more to the north of the saddle.
Our last run was a more north-northeastern aspect (see photo above). This was the longest descent and the best snow of the day, a little sticky once we got down to the creek but not too bad. Put us out at the first large turnout east of the pass. Only had to jump a 3′ section of the creek by the road, otherwise were able to ski the whole way back and then hitchhike back to the car.
All in all a great day in the outdoors.
