SnowBrains Header logo
  • Store
  • Podcast
  • Snow Forecasts
  • Conditions Reports
  • Gear
  • Avalanche Forecast
  •  
SnowBrains Facebook Page SnowBrains Twitter Page SnowBrains Instagram Page SnowBrains YouTube Page SnowBrains RSS Feed

eastern sierras

Mono County, California: Choose Your Own Adventure

Mono County Ca

Mono County, California: It’s Time To Choose Your Own Adventure The Eastern Sierra is a premier winter destination. Home to Mammoth and June Mountain, Mono County attracts powder chasers eager to ride storms and spend days at the resort. However, adventure lies far beyond the ski area boundaries. Let’s explore what lies beyond the ski area. It’s time to choose […]

Post Tag for Featured ArticleFeatured Article
Aunika Skogen | March 28, 2025
0 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for PodcastsPodcasts
Podcast | August 13, 2024
0 Comments

Prescription Mother Nature to the Rescue: Experience Winter in Mammoth Lakes

Brought to you by Mammoth Lakes Tourism Covid got you down? After months of the mundane, you dream of adventure, crave a change of pace, and long for a deeply satisfying breath of fresh mountain air. Luckily for you, we’ve got a prescription that will fulfill these wishes and more. It’s a remedy to the blues, a medicine for the […]

Post Tag for Featured ArticleFeatured Article
Spencer Cox | March 15, 2021
0 Comments

VIDEO: Watch Josh Daiek Ski a Huge Eastern Sierra Line at Mock-Looney

Tahoe local and friend of SnowBrains Josh Daiek tackled some serious projects this past winter. A lot of which, were in his own backyard in the Eastern Sierras of California. This video shows him skiing a massive chute somewhere in the Sierras with a bit of a funny entry to the line. RELATED: VIDEO: Pro Skier Josh Daiek Sends Biggest […]

Post Tag for BackcountryBackcountry
Play Video
Avatar photo SnowBrains | May 2, 2020
0 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Katy Shipley | May 15, 2018
0 Comments

12,397′ Dunderberg Peak, CA Conditions Report: Fresh Snow, Good Crowd, No Vis…

We headed up to 12,397′ Dunderberg Peak, CA from Mammoth on Saturday.  We met up with a terrific cast of characters and had an incredible time. About 4-8″ of new snow coated the mountain and a thick fog we hoped would lift clung to the mountain like glue all day. The new snow allowed skinning directly to the summit with no boot-packing. […]

Post Tag for Trip ReportTrip Report
Miles Clark | May 2, 2016
4 Comments

High Sierra, CA Alpine Conditions Report:

Hope you are all enjoying summer at this point. We are! After the driest winter on record, the High Sierra experienced one of the wettest calendar months ever. The town of Bishop hit May records for amount of rainfall and consecutive days with precipitation. In June, mountain weather has remained somewhat unusual with daily high temperatures spanning more than 30 degrees F in many locations.

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Guest Author | July 2, 2015
3 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Play Video
Keegan Kliman | March 29, 2015
0 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Play Video
Guest Author | February 22, 2015
0 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Josh Daiek | May 29, 2014
1 Comment

Tioga Pass Scouting Report: Ellery Bowl Chutes | + Rainbow Pools Report:

I drove over Tioga Pass today around 12:30pm. I didn’t have time to ski but did have time to stop and scope out Ellery Bowl. Things are melting fast on Tioga and you can only fully ski down right now on the far skiers left at the bottom. I skied Chute Out last Friday and it was still good but you can’t ski the very upper section now. It’s all rocks. Poop […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Miles Clark | May 27, 2014
2 Comments

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 […]

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Miles Clark | May 11, 2014
2 Comments

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 | May 8, 2014
9 Comments

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 | May 6, 2014
4 Comments

Share your story:

Submit A Link

Top 10 Trending right now:

  • Italian Extreme Sports Icon Dies in 200-Meter Fall in Gröden/Val Gardena, Italy
    Italian Extreme Sports Icon Dies in 200-Meter Fall in Gröden/Val Gardena, Italy
  • The 10 Biggest Ski Resorts on the East Coast
    The 10 Biggest Ski Resorts on the East Coast
  • Investigating The Ski Town Housing Shortage
    Investigating The Ski Town Housing Shortage
  • [UPDATED: July 18] NOAA Winter 2025-26 Outlook: Long-Lead Seasonal Outlook Gives Sneak Peek of Next Winter
    [UPDATED: July 18] NOAA Winter 2025-26 Outlook: Long-Lead Seasonal Outlook Gives Sneak Peek of Next Winter
  • Austrian Ski Resort Faces Permanent Closure as Demolition of Ski Lifts Looms
    Austrian Ski Resort Faces Permanent Closure as Demolition of Ski Lifts Looms
  • 11 Top Ski Brands and Their Equivalent Automobile Brand
    11 Top Ski Brands and Their Equivalent Automobile Brand
  • Extreme Sportsman Felix Baumgartner Dies in Paragliding Accident in Italy’s Porto Sant'Elpidio
    Extreme Sportsman Felix Baumgartner Dies in Paragliding Accident in Italy’s Porto Sant'Elpidio
  • 22-Year-Old Trail Runner Dies After Slipping on Snow-Covered Trail in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria
    22-Year-Old Trail Runner Dies After Slipping on Snow-Covered Trail in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria
  • Rossignol to Close Historic Dynastar Factory at Foot of Mont-Blanc, France, Ending Over 60 Years of Ski Manufacturing History
    Rossignol to Close Historic Dynastar Factory at Foot of Mont-Blanc, France, Ending Over 60 Years of Ski Manufacturing History
  • Dixie National Forest, UT, Reviews Brian Head Ski Area Plan to Triple in Size
    Dixie National Forest, UT, Reviews Brian Head Ski Area Plan to Triple in Size
  • Meet the Team
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
  • Site Map