SummitPost.org

Thats funny Eman, glad you had some fun makin' turns this weekend too...

That wasnt our cache that you saw, we got everything into camp and charged from there.

Yeah, everyone who gained the summit ridge were talking about the high winds, we had some during our outings into the bowls, chutes and couloirs, but nothing really bad.

It was nice to see a good group out there having fun, even if there was a ton of suffering to get it. Ran into at least 3 people who hauled alpine rigs and boots back there to ski Hey, I did it to a couple of times

This year's abundance of snow has indeed made this a special year for the Southern California mountains. You guys are really savoring the experience by keeping it going into the month of May.

It has been a great year. I haven't spent almost every weekend of a season so close to home in a long time.

Just glad we made the effort.
It's hard to imagine: great skiing in SoCal in May!!
WhooHoo!!

I took a couple snowboarder friends and my AT rig up the big draw to the summit on 5/1:

http://brentcoe.smugmug.com/Skiing-Alpi ... io-512010/

The ski conditions were just great, save for maybe the last hundred yards up the big draw... some breakable crust up there.

Skied the north slope of San G. yesterday. Perfect conditions. It should last a couple more weeks, maybe longer. As reported from the previous weekend, continuous snow starting at the meadow.

Steve,

Glad you were able to enjoy some mid spring turns. By any chance do you (or anyone else reading this thread) have a reference for names to the chutes on San G and Jepson Bowl?
Thanks in advance.

I was up there yesterday may 8th as well.

San G proper does still look really good, may have to go hit it soon before it melts out, but you can ski from the ridge into 2 of the chutes.

Which line did you hit Steve?

Eman- Some features have been named up there, but not all of them. It seems that everytime we ski something off-the-grid up there that doesnt have a name, we give it one for our own personal identification. I have a blank topo map of the area that I am slowly filling out with ski descents.

The names 'Christmas Tree Hill', 'Big Draw', and other older names have came from a older map of the San Gorgonio Wilderness published in 1971 by The Defenders of San Gorgonio Wilderness, by Dane Winkelman. He gathered information from early ski mountaineering groups as well as survey crews that were looking at develpoing San G as a ski resort in the late 60's and early 70's.

Yesterday we hit two of the N facing chutes on Charlton Peak. A snowboarder and a splitboarder were up there on Dollar Couloir, we hit the lookers left skiiers right chute next to it, dubbed 50 Cent Couloir

Thick, heavy wet snow and variable conditions. Some sun cupped snow as well were encountered [/img]

I have never been able to post pics in the forums, I can post some from yesterday if someone gives me the quick tip, sorry

Got it

This couloir faces N on Charlton Peak

Climbed Jepson via the large couloir coming out of the bowl yesterday, snow was unexpectedly nice, minimal postholiling but we were up and down before noon. Looked a little sketchy once the sun started hitting it, lots of roller balls.

Many thanks for the beta, Blair.
My map, naturally, has none of it.

Nice that you were able to (continue to) extend the season!

Eman, winter man be over, but the second season is in full swing

Will prob be back next weekend, trying to get as much in as possible before its gone

I don't have a clue about feature names up there, other than the big draw. The line I skied was lookers left of the big draw (really, only visible from Dry Lake). There's a broad couloir that's kind of two broad gullies at the top coming right off the summit plateau. Awesome run. That gully on Charlton looked good, too.

Some interesting information on the history of Skiing in So Cal in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Skiing-Southern-California-Images-America/dp/0738555681#reader_0738555681

They had two huts on San Gorgonio at one time.