eastern sierras

SnowBrains Podcast Ep. 63 | Christian Pondella – Senior Photographer at Powder Magazine, Adventure Photographer, Extreme Ski Mountaineer, and Ice Climber

This episode of the SnowBrains Podcast is brought to you by Club Med. On the second episode of Season 5 of The SnowBrains Podcast, Miles Clark sits down to talk with Mammoth-based adventure photographer and ski mountaineer Christian Pondella.  Christian Pondella is: a top adventure photographer a senior photographer at Powder Magazine a photographer published in: National Geographic Sports Illustrated […]
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Podcast |
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Mammoth Mountain, CA Conditions Report: Spring Groomers, Wind Buff, and Wild Mountains

At the end of every season, a spring Mammoth Mountain trip is called for. We left Donner Summit, CA early on Saturday morning and showed up for some afternoon fun.  Friday night brought low temperatures, skiffs of new snow, and high winds, so we took our time and let things heat up. Lower aspects were perfect creamy corn snow– always a spring favorite.  Steep wind buffed […]
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Katy Shipley |
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Tahoe Backcountry Breakdown: Sierra Chuting Gallery

The last couple weeks have not brought much snowfall to the Tahoe basin, however there are plenty of good turns to be had if you play your cards right. Most worthy objectives will come in the form of springtime corn shredding, but there is still some recycled powder out there on sheltered high elevation north-facing slopes. Over the last week we checked out some of the classic couloirs of the Eastern Sierras and rowdy terrain of […]
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Keegan Kliman |
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Eastern Sierra Backcountry Report & Video:

It hasn’t snowed in weeks? months? years? I can’t even remember anymore. But here’s the thing: sliding down snowy mountains is fun, even during a drought. The high elevation and crystal clear nights keep the snow in the High Sierra nice and wintery even when it’s tee shirt weather down in town. The crux is mustering up the motivation to get to it. While I haven’t been ski touring as much as usual this year, every time that I have gone out I’ve had a great time. On February 18, two friends and I set out to ride some chutes north […]
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Guest Author |
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Eastern Sierra Report: Powder Day in Bloody Couloir

I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel and give up on winter for the season. With a rapidly melting snow pack and phenomenal dirt for mountain biking, why fight it? I began settling into my summer routine when mother nature sneak attacked with a nice little thunderstorm. My first thought was of how good the mountain biking would be, but as the storm got colder and flakes began falling my mentality instinctively flopped to skiing. I jumped on my computer to research snow reports […]
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Josh Daiek |
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Tioga Pass, CA Report: May 11th = Not Good | Surf Conditions = A+

Last night, Mammoth got a bit of late season snow. It was a nice day until about 3pm when clouds rolled in, the wind picked up (it was already blowing), and it started to snow. It didn’t accumulate much, but the wind howled like a banshee and the low in Mammoth Lakes was 23F last night. We weren’t quite sure what that weird May weather would equate on Tioga Pass, but we hoped […]
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Miles Clark |
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How To Ski & Ride The Eastern Sierra, CA | 1. Ice Cream, 2. Hot Springs, 3. Ski & Ride

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. 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) […]
Miles Clark |
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Eastern Sierra Backcountry Conditions: Virginia Lakes

Our week in the Eastern Sierras came to and end last Sunday. On our way back to Tahoe, we decided to hit Virginia Lakes again due to the ease of access and the ability to have a quick tour. First thing we noticed was the large amount of snow that had melted away in the week since we’d been there. Second thing we noticed were the lakes. The lakes now have large open spots and nothing but thin ice where a week ago there were people ice fishing all over them and they were totally frozen over. We measured the lake ice thickness a week ago and found the ice to be 4” thick, which is the […]
Miles Clark |
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