Skiing Tioga Pass / Ellery Bowl

Tioga Pass - the gateway to Yosemite from the Eastern Sierra - is one of the best places for quick access to steep spring/summer skiing in the USA. The road had only opened a week prior to our trip, so we knew there was still a ton of snow up there. We arrived at Ellery Lake around 11:30am on June 30th, and after scoping out the area, decided to ski Ellery Bowl, the area's premiere roadside attraction. Now, the term "bowl" doesn't exactly do this area justice - we found out that while the lower sections consisted of smooth, mellow corn skiing, the upper bowl was a STEEP 47-50 DEGREE HEADWALL in a total no-fall zone.

From the lake, we bootpacked straight up the thing. For the last 600 feet, the ice axes came out. I was deliberate in kicking a bomber staircase for Andrea to follow. The top of the ascent was actually a bit scary. But eventually we kicked our way to the top, and the views of the huge Dana Plateau and the Yosemite high country made it all worthwhile.

The descent off the top of the headwall was a test of faith and confidence. This was the steepest slope angle either of us had ever skied. I made 2 jump turns, then traversed over and watched Andrea nail her turns as well. From there, the skiing was exciting and fun. When we got to the bottom, we chatted with lots of tourists who had been watching us from below.

After lunch, we did a little sightseeing on the pass, then headed further south to June Lake for the night. We went for a run after checking into our hotel, and I remember our conversation pretty much only consisting of things like "Wow, that was really steep" and "Holy crap, can you believe how steep that was!"

Needless to say, I can't wait to go back and ski some of the other areas on Tioga Pass. Summer 2012 vacation in the works? :-)

Ellery Lake


The route








This doesn't even do justice to the steepness


Dana Plateau


The headwall and Yosemite's high country


"Don't fall there"


Traversing above some rocky/cliff area


Looking down after the traverse


Whoa! The look on her face says it all!






Done with the scary part!














Lunch time!


4.5 lbs of Snickers? Of course!


Tioga Lake

Next stop: Mammoth Lakes!!!

More pictures: Picasa - Tioga Pass

All of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes

North Lake Tahoe

We arrived on the northern side of the Lake mid-day on the 27th. First order of business was some skiing at Alpine Meadows. We skinned up and found some nice corn on the upper bowls and had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we drove to Kings Beach, checked into our condo, and I went for another run while Andrea biked along. The north side of the lake is a lot quieter than the south side.

June 28th was another multisport day... skiing at Alpine Meadows again, an awesome mountain bike ride at Tahoe XC, and of course logging some running miles.

It was raining on the morning of the 29th (our only stretch of bad weather of the entire trip!), so we slept in, then went for a run over in Incline Village. I stretched it out to 15 miles to take advantage of the higher altitude. In the afternoon the weather cleared, so we went over to the Mt Rose ski area, skinned to the top, and skied a lap (battling some impressive suncups on the descent).

Alpine Meadows... lifts are closed, which means it was open to us for skinning!












Our place in Kings Beach was right on the water


Not a bad place to spend a few days




More skiing at Alpine meadows


Private corduroy


Bear sighting in Tahoe City


Tahoe XC






Some running shots






Moose Tracks!!!


Above the desert at Mt Rose




Lake Tahoe from the north


Last night in Tahoe

The next morning we headed south to Tioga Pass.

More pictures on Picasa - Alpine Meadows - North Tahoe

All of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes

South Lake Tahoe

After driving from SLC to Carson City on June 24th, we went for a run in the foothills of Nevada's "Capital City," then headed over to South Lake Tahoe, where we spent the next two days.

The first activity in Tahoe (June 25) was a bike ride at Heavenly... we climbed about 2500 feet on a forest road until we hit snowline.

On our second day (June 26) in South Tahoe, we skied Mt Tallac, the most prominent peak seen from the entire area. We ended up climbing a steep couloir on the SE side of the mountain, then skiing the Cathedral Couloir. The first few turns off the top were probably the steepest Andrea has ever skied (although that would change in a few days when we got to Tioga Pass), and she nailed it! We went for another mountain bike ride later in the day. The hot tub at our hotel was crucial for recovery! :-)

On June 27th we made our way up to North Tahoe, but first stopped to go for a run on the Rubicon Trail in the Emerald Bay area. Easily one of the most beautiful trails we have ever been on.

Bonneville Salt flats


Biking at Heavenly






Mt Tallac - the ski objective for the following day


Tahoe sunset




Heading up Tallac's SE side. We skied the couloir in the middle that branches to looker's right




Desolation Wilderness






Dropping off the top of the Cathedral Couloir






The line is directly behind Andrea


Had to cross this rock slide area


Bikini skiing time!


Hiking out


Riding the powerline trail


Emerald Bay

More pictures on Picasa - South Lake Tahoe

All of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes

Mammoth Lakes Freedom Mile

Front pack of the Mammoth Lakes Freedom Mile... check out that sweet yellow lead car!

On the last morning of our summer vacation, I decided to jump in a road mile race at 8000 feet! This was my first post-Utah Valley Marathon race, and I definitely went into it with tired legs from an incredibly active week of running/skiing/biking. I finished 3rd in 4:37. Not exactly an impressive performance (I was never really IN the race)... but it was a good rust-buster after a few weeks of lower intesity running and tons of cross-training. I feel really fit and super strong right now, so now its time to get rolling with summer training. I'm focusing on running a fast half-marathon at the end of the summer, then will hopefully take a shot at running an Olympic Trials Marathon qualifying time this fall.

Last 200m or so...

Final stretch

Gotta love the July 4th spirit in Mammoth Lakes!

Post race photo w/ Josh Cox

The rest of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes