Report from July 6, 2023

12,691′ Paiute Pass Ridge Chutes Yesterday = summer skiing bliss!

This was our 20th & final “new-to-us” ski mountaineering line of our 2023 Eastern Sierra Project – “The Twenty Project” (he he).

We feel simply ecstatic to have completed this challenging project and to have experienced so many inconceivable zones.

We skied 20 different ski mountaineering runs from Bridgeport to Independence and everywhere in between.

We started this project on May 10, 2023, and finished on July 6, 2023.

We had plenty of rough weather in May & June which added to the complexity immensely (rain, snow, lightning, too hot, overly cold).

We feel extremely grateful today.

Thank you to all our friends who ski mountaineered with us and river surfed with us and resort skied with us this spring and summer here in the Eastern Sierra.

And a special thanks to California and all of you for following along.

We appreciate you.

 Peak 12,691′, CA – “Paiute Pass Ridge Chutes” Details

• Summit (actually a ridgeline):  12,000′
• Car:  9,300′
• Vertical From Car:  2,700′
• Vertical skied:  1,200′
• Max Pitch:  35º 
• Avg Pitch: 35º 
• Aspect:  North
• Distance:  7.2-miles round trip
• Time From Car to Top:  3 hours & 30 minutes
• Car to Car Time: 5 hours & 30 minutes
• Recommended Equipment:  Crampons, Ice Axe x 2, Skins, Ski Crampons

4th of July weekend was hot.

Really hot.

I decided to let the heat wave roll through and give the backcountry another try after the weekend.

Yesterday the low temps looked appropriate so I gave it a go.

The Paiute Pass Ridge Chutes appeared to be a shorter hike so I didn’t leave the house until about 7am.

I was hiking by 8am from the North Lake day use parking lot.

I’d never been to this zone and it was gorgeous.

Lush, wet, water everywhere.

I walked along the road to the closed but charming North Lake campground.

From there, I hopped on the trail and started grinding.

Shooting star flowers, a furious creek, and newly leaved aspens greeted me.

After about 1 hour, I saw a good-looking, well-walled chute that I really liked.

The only issue was that it no longer went all the way to the ridgeline.

I walked on.

A bit of a climb up switchbacks lead me to Loch Leven (lake) and the chute I’d come to ski.

There was a bizarre, Antarctic pool just below Loch Leven that I found dazzling.

After gaping around the lake for a bit, I headed up the chute.

Skins in deep sun cups for a short stint before switching to crampons.

The chute wasn’t too steep so I was able to stumble up it in crampons and ski poles (no ice axe).

3 hours and 30 minutes after leaving the car, I was on top of the couloir.

It was flat up there with flowers, stunted trees, and vivacious views.

The North Couloir of Mt. Lamarck looked stolid.

I ate 3 mini-Payday bars and a handful of gummy bears and headed down to my skis.

I dropped in without fear (it was nice to ski and climb a less steep chute).

I was skeptical of the conditions but the skiing was good!

I arched medium-sized turns down the upper chute and enjoyed every instant of it right down until the apron.

The apron’s sun cups slowed me down and made turn transitions challenging.

From the lake, I scooted and pushed my way back to the trail and back into my shoes.

From that point, it only took about an hour to get back to the car down the well-groomed trail.

I did stop and ogle that walled chute again on my way out and made sure to stop and smell all the flowers.

Should I come back for that walled chute and get one more last line?

Maybe…

I enjoyed the hike home immensely.

Flowers, horse ferns, shade, sweet smells, and raging waters.

Thanks, California!

The Eastern Sierra Blackjack Project

2023

1. 7/8/23:  Trip Report: Peak 12,691′, CA – “Paiute Pass Ridge Chutes” – The Walled Couloir
2. 7/6/23: Trip Report: 11,000′ McGee Creek Peak, CA – “McGee Creek Chutes”
3. 6/29/23: Trip Report: 11,744′ Independence Peak, CA – “Independence Couloir”
4. 6/25/23: Trip Report: University Peak, CA – “Northeast Couloir”
5. 6/22/23: Trip Report: 13,632′ University Peak, CA – “North Face”
6. 6/20/23:  Trip Report: 13,494′ Mt. Thompson, CA – “Trident Couloirs”
7. 6/15/23: Trip Report: 12,871′ Mount Johnson, CA – “North Couloir”
8. 6/9/23:  Trip Report: 13,366′ Point Powell, CA – “Point Powell Couloir”
9. 6/8/23:  Trip Report: 12,219′ Hurd Peak, CA – “North Face”
10. 6/4/23:  Trip Report: The Incredible Hulk, CA – “Hulk Left Couloir”
11. 6/2/23:  Trip Report: 13,187′ Basin Mountain – “Basin Couloir Alternate”
12. 5/31/23: Trip Report: 12,808′ Four Gables, CA – “Tungstar Bowls”
13. 5/27/23: Trip Report: 11,160′ Mt. Scowden – Lundy Canyon – “North Face Chute”
14. 5/24/23: Sierra Nevada, CA Report: Skiing Through A Lava Tube Cave
15. 5/23/23: Trip Report: 13,118′ Mt. Emerson – The 45º Steep “North Couloir”
16. 5/20/23: Trip Report: 12,200′ Mt. Esha, CA – “2nd Chute”
17. 5/18/23: Trip Report: McGee Creek Peak, CA – 2,800-Vertical-Foot “Wineglass Couloir”
18. 5/16/23:Trip Report: 10,908′ Carson Peak, CA – 45º Steep “Pete’s Dream”
19. 5/5/15/23: Trip Report: 11,812′ Mt. Laurel, CA – 3,500-Vertical-Foot “Pinner Couloir”
20. 5/11/23:  Sierra Nevada, CA, Report: 48º Steep “Pitch Fork” Couloir at Convict Lake
21. 5/10/23: Trip Report: 13,005′ Mt. Morgan, CA – Nevahbe Ridge Gullies

PHOTOS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER