Back in the City of Salt

Southern Oregon gave us a good look at an early spring in the hill country near our friend's house... endless road biking, orchards and farms but not a lot of skiing so we travelled on to Eastern Oregon. First stop on the way was the bustling city of Portland to spend the night with some friends from our last Grand Canyon trip.... it was great to catch up but the stay was short, enough time to enjoy a dinner of the hearty veggies left over from fall's harvest... impressive. We packed up in the morning and followed a windy rain storm through the Columbia River Gorge and towards a small Eastern Oregon ski area called Anthony Lakes. Thanks to its location there are not enough people to support its operation throughout the week so we camped in the parking lot of the closed ski area and left before they opened for the weekend. The area was a hidden gem with easily accessible back country skiing and the option for a run or two up the ski area. We had a great time but the cold nights in the van sent us packing toward the low lands and the hot springs on the Payette River in Idaho. After a relaxing soak in the hot springs we loaded up in the van and completed the final leg of our ski tour... back to Salt Lake City. We explored many of the two lane highways and small towns on our way home and at times went way out of our way to find a scenic spot. 

The reintroduction to the city is always a shock after traveling two lane highways so we did some laundry and drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to stay at our friend's "ski Chalet" for a few nights. It is so nice to be back in the mountains and even though there has not been more than 2 inches of new snow in a while we were able to find some fun skiing on a really warm day here. Now it is time to dive into our stored stuff and get ready for the river! Hooray!!! 

(sorry for the lack of pictures, we are working on that!!!)

Southern Oregon Sunshine...

Well we left the Sierras just in time to avoid most of the 4 feet of fresh snow they got last weekend. Our drive over Donner summit required chains and the road was super slick. Vanny almost rear-ended a Hummer at one point but we steered her to the burm and some fresh snow and traction, whew!!
After the Summit we drove with chains for an hour or so motoring along at 20 mph and soon found ourselves at lower elevation where it was wet and rainy. Tired from the drive we parked in the Grass Valley fairgrounds RV park and slept. The next day was wet. It rained all day as we drove up the verdant Central Valley of California. Along the way we saw many different bird species, Herons, Egrets, Raptors...and lots of little un-identifiable birds too.
As we made our way North the hills began to rise beside us along with the snow pack. Soon we pulled over in Mt. Shasta where they had received 5 feet of snow in three days, 7 feet on the mountain!!! We were not going skiing this day since the access road would have given our mighty van a run for its money. Instead we kept going north to Phoenix, Oregon, just north of Ashland.
Our friend lives in a little house up on an oakey hill outside of town. In the morning the birds sing like it is springtime...probably because it is springtime here!!
We attempted to climb nearby Mt. Mcgloulin and after 3 miles of orienteering through the dense forest finally spotted the summit ridge rising 2000' above. After a valiant attempt we turned around at treeline. Most recently we drove south to the Scott River Valley to ski some locals only shots with..the locals. It was fun and fairly good snow quality for this part of the country, powder, packed powder and cold temps. Today we plan to take advantage of the sun and do some hikes and a road bike ride around the rolling hills of the Rogue River Valley; some of the best road bike terrain I have seen.
Next stop....who knows?

Still in Bishop

Yep.... we might move in. Conversations about leaving Bishop have started but every time we set a date and make some plans another storm rolls in and we go skiing!!! Although we seem to ski everyday John cant get enough, so much so he and jeff are writing a song about skiing right now! Despite the storms that roll through most of the snow falls around Mammoth Ski Area so we have been exploring the backcountry spots in the town of Mammoth Lakes. The approach to the ski runs are a bit longer than in SLC and today it required that we ski across an open meadow in a blustery storm... burr. It looks like we will ski around here again tomorrow and then i will be begging for a rest day.

Lovin' the East Side

For the past few days we have been pawing around at the local mountains looking for some fresh turns. Admittedly the Wasatch mountains have spoiled us with their quick access and straight forward approaches. Two days ago we skied the backcountry near Mammoth mountain and found 20" of light pow. After a few laps we headed back to Jeff and Sarah's for some r and r. 

Yesterday we set our sights on a route near Convict Lake. It ascended a brushy slope where we hiked our skis then slogged over marginal coverage towards some spectacular terrain. (the large drainage coming in on the right) Being that it was day 5 in a row for skiing our "team" opted out early in the journey and enjoyed some fun turns down the main drainage. If nothing else we spocked some great terrain to be had during the next visit. 

Big Storm!!!

John Malloy actually skied at the ski area!!! We skied a full day at Mammoth Mountain last friday using every last bit of energy we had in our legs. Sat and Sun we skiied up to a hut outside of bishop during a storm and it kept snowing all night. We toured both days we were up there but despite the big storm there were too many rock and logs to get any turns but the scenery was amazing. Check out some picutres by clicking the link on the left!!!
We are loving the schedule around here...early mornings, active days and early to bed to do it all again!!!

Road Trip Part 1

Well we made it... home from Michigan safely, we packed the hubbard street house into the basement, parked the car and the trailer in their spots for the month, gathered the last bits of important paperwork... tried to think of something we forgot and we headed out to cali!!!

The road out of Salt Lake City was amazing, the snow capped mountains in the middle of the lake, a beautiful sunset and great weather for driving... we felt blessed. We spent the first night near a river in Battle Mountain, NV, sleeping in the van. The next morning we made our way to Trukee, Cali, a cute town near the highway with a lot of national forest near by. John went to his conference at a research center in the tahoe national forest and Elie spent some time alone with the Mason exploring the forest skiing and because there is very little snow... running!!!! Yes, the sierra mountains are in need of a little snow but we are enjoying the 40-60 degree sunny days until the snow falls!!!

After the conference we hit the road for Bishop, CA on the east side of the sierra. Another beautiful drive following the tall peaks of the Sierra range. The drive was dry and our talk of skiing turned into ideas about climbing and hiking!! We arrived at our friends' (Jeff and Sarah) house in time for a beautiful sunset over looking Mt Tom and the Bishop Valley. Despite our worries that there was no snow Jeff and Sarah took us out on a great backcountry tour near Mammoth Ski Area, I am endlessly amazed by the mountains in this area, they are breathtaking. Jeff and Sarah went back to work and we enjoyed some of the trails near their house in shorts!!! (another warm day) The afternoon was spent with the house doors open doing some yoga on the deck and some bouldering in the afternoon on some of the world class boulders here in bishop. The trip has been fun and it is just the beginning!!