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The range of light: high desert climbing and velvet ski bowls

Story and photos by Yuko Iwanaga It might seem strange to drive two whole days from the corridor to ski-tour in Sierra Nevada when the beautiful Coast Mountains tower above us.

Story and photos by Yuko Iwanaga

It might seem strange to drive two whole days from the corridor to ski-tour in Sierra Nevada when the beautiful Coast Mountains tower above us.

But touring the Sierras, also known as the Range of Light, is unique as it offers visitors a chance to explore a deeply contrasting landscape with both high desert mountains and snow-capped ragged peaks. It is amazing to experience dry desert on your left while on your right you could be standing in snow at elevations of 10,000 feet or higher.

This is a place where you get to not only ski and rock climb in the same day, you also get to soak in natural hot springs at the end of your daily adventure.

The northwest end of this wide open, massively ragged range begins near the town of Bridgeport in California and ends at the southern town of Big Pine near Bishop (along highway US395, two hours by car from Bridgeport to Reno, 18 hours driving to Reno from Squamish). The range is home to three national parks, 15 state parks, two national monuments and 20 officially designated wilderness areas.

For ski touring, the best time to explore the area is usually mid-April to mid-June. The Sierras get serious snowstorms in the mid-winter months, making it tricky to enjoy. It's common to get ridge-top winds in the 160km/hr range with several feet of snow at that time of the year making for hazardous avalanche conditions. During the winter most ski approaches are very long so people stick with smaller adventures on skis or ski at a resort such as Mammoth.

But come spring, when the road access opens up, it is fairly easy to reach high altitude peaks ranging between 10,000 and 14,500 feet, where it is easy to enjoy the deep snowpack. Velvet in texture and creamy it is skiable till July. This year has been a particularly big snow year so it is crucial to do weather and avalanche checks before heading out to ski-tour.

The Sierras consist of 11 different regions: Bridgeport Region, Virginia Creek Region, Tioga Pass Region, June Lake Region, Mammoth Lakes Region, Convict Creek Region, McGee Creek Region, Rock Creek Region, Pine Creek Region, Bishop Region and Big Pine Region. All the regions offer numerous campsites for tenting and camp trailers. Both natural and commercial hot springs are close to campsites along US395.

The first two places we explored were Crater Crest (11,394-feet) and Horse Creek near Bridgeport /Twin Lakes area. We found beautiful camping at Buckeye campsite, which thankfully featured muscle-relaxing natural hot springs at an elevation of 7,100-feet. Any type of vehicle can make it to the area.

The Twin Lakes area has several campsites, which are accessible from US395. With good conditions you can ski right from the side of the road.

But be warned - fishing season starts in late April here and that brings hordes of fishermen from the coast, and once the run is on every campsite costs between $10 and $30.

Moving further south, we next skied the McGee Creek Region, between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop. Here you get to drive as high as 8,500 feet if the roads are ploughed of snow. There are so many mountains here to explore it is hard to choose so take your time to pick one that offers the terrain you are looking for.

We set our sights on the 12,000-foot Esha Peak though our pre-ski tour weather check warned us that we may not make it all the way if the winds picked up. As predicted, when we started up the final bowl, the winds started to howl. The closer we got to our destination, the stronger the winds became. They were easily 160 km/h. I couldn't stay upright on my skis and had to lay on my stomach while removing my skins in preparation for the downward ski. All the while I had to desperately hold on to my pack, poles and skis to keep them from flying away. Once I managed to put my skis back on, the next challenge was trying to get back on my feet without being blown down the slope out of control. All the while my ski group was getting blasted by painful ice pellets. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every single turn that I earned, perhaps even more  than usual.

Our next stop found us setting up base camp at Pleasant Valley Campground, which is near Bishop. Here we had green grass, toilets with toilet paper, garbage bins, picnic tables, a beautiful creek with fish and birds and water (for washing ...) and we were just 10 minutes away from all the amenities of Bishop. From here we explored more mountains including Table Mountain (11,696 feet) and the 12,750-foot peak in the Inconsolable Range.

They were absolutely beautiful, huge, wide, open, white, creamy snow-bowls in the middle of the high desert. There was not another soul to be seen - we were entirely by ourselves.

Looking at the endless mountains I found myself saying, "What have I started?" Just discovering new classical violin music touches my soul so too has this mountain range. When I stood at the summit of each peak I knew that I would be coming back.

One of the most amazing things about travelling in this area of the Sierras is that you can alternate skiing at 10,000 feet and and rock climbing at 4,900 feet while camping  in the same area. And did I mention the hot springs?

The Owens River Gorge is located in East-Central California, between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes off of US395. It offers 544 sport climbs and 158 traditional climbs. The rock is volcanic tuff in a high desert setting. All the approaches take only 10 to 20 minutes down to beautiful canyons which the birds of the Sierra use as their playground. You can choose to camp at the Sagebrush campsite on Owens Gorge Road by the climbs or there are a few other campsites just one minute south of there by car.

For more information on the area you can purchase books and topographical maps from local outdoor stores in Bishop and Mammoth Lakes or  the  visitor center at Lee Vining:

·   Owens River Gorge Climbs , by Marty Lewis .

·   Backcountry Skiing California's Eastern Sierra , by Dan Mingori and Nate Greenberg.

·   Backcountry Skiing California's High Sierra , By John Maynier.