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
Backcountry Trip Report & Photo Tour: Virginia Lakes, CA We awoke today with thoughts of Tioga Pass today but knew that highway 120 was closed only 4 miles west of the 395/120 junction so we weren’t sure where we’d end up. Our plan was to end up in Mammoth with some friends. We skied the Mt. Rose “Chutes” in the morning on a whim and had a blast on their steep terrain. After the Chutes we loaded back into the car and then randomly decided to check out Virginia Lakes on our way south. Neither of us had been there before […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | April 28, 2014 7 Comments