CALIFORNIA'S BEST LIFT-SERVED BACKCOUNTRY SKIING

By Joseph Merriman

Photo by Christian Pondella

ONE MILLION YEARS AGO the Rush Creek Glacier swept through, its twenty-four square miles of ice carving a horseshoe shaped canyon.

Centuries ago the Paiute Indians settled the land and found plentiful hunting and fishing. In 1927, the post office opened, though for many years winter mail was delivered by dog sled.

The first chair lift was installed in 1961.

And in 1986 Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort owner Dave McCoy bought June Mountain Ski Area. His ambition was to interconnect the two resorts by stringing a series of lifts along the ten mile long San Joaquin Ridge, creating a European style mega resort. Dave McCoy never realized his dream. The lift riding resort skier’s loss is the backcountry rider’s gain.

Located thirty minutes south of Yosemite National Park, June Mountain’s five-hundred acres prove smaller is bigger. Ignored in the winter by the tourist crowds going to Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort and in the spring by backcountry skiers headed to Yosemite’s Tioga Pass, June’s seven chairs aren’t new, aren’t high speed, and don’t carry six people.

But for those interested in lift-accessed backcountry, June Mountain has it all. June’s seven chairs make it possible to make a 5,000-foot run while skinning up only 2,000 feet. Locals rattle off a seemingly endless list of descents. Sampling even a few of the lift-served out-of-bounds runs will bring a smile to any rider’s face. And off June Lake Loop (state route 158) lie plenty of opportunities for those who avoid lifts.

The Nome Zone is an easily accessible out-of-bounds run. After getting off chair seven at June Mountain’s 10,174-foot summit, ski a short way down the Matterhorn groomer, then duck out of bounds into the trees on the mountain’s shoulder. With June Mountain on skier’s right, follow the mountain’s contours, then ski inbounds once the run around the shoulder comes to a natural end. The Nome Zone trees provide an easy warm up for those getting a feel for the terrain.

The Negatives are a cluster of steep chutes dropping off San Joaquin Ridge. From the top of June, the Negatives face the skier across a glacier-carved valley. Skiing beyond the boundary from chair seven, the backcountry rider can go to skier’s right, dropping down into the valley through trees bordering the Nome Zone, or by going to skier’s left onto an open ridge and then to the valley.

Most tracks head toward the ridge, but local guides like Sierra Mountain Guides’ Howie Schwartz know the trees often hold better snow. Once in the valley, the easiest access to the top of San Joaquin Ridge comes toward the valley’s head. A moderate hourglass shaped chute opens up affording a continuous 2,000 foot ascent to the ridge top.

From the ridge skiers can choose the challenging steeps of the Negatives or the sustained but moderate line they skinned up. Those who tour for views can follow San Joaquin Ridge all the way to Mammoth Mountain Resort.

The Devil’s Slide couloir is a dramatic descent. It is accessed below San Joaquin Ridge, down the valley separating San Joaquin Ridge from June Mountain. Linking the Negatives with Devil’s Slide makes a full 5,000-foot, European-style descent ending near the parking lot of the Double Eagle Spa and Resort. Route-finding skills are essential in order to locate the entry to Devil’s Slide, but once found, the forty-degree chute delivers. Despite catering to families skiing June’s wide cruisers, the Double Eagle’s restaurant and bar welcome backcountry skiers and allow shuttle parking.

GO WITH A GUIDE

For those who choose to explore June’s backcountry with a guide, as I did, Bishop-based Sierra Mountain Guides provide day and overnight trips into the June Mountain backcountry. Co-owner and lead guide Howie Schwartz is fully certified to international standards in rock climbing, alpine climbing and ski guiding. “This is my backyard,” said Howie. “We love bringing people here just because it’s so much fun.”

Sierra Mountain Center, another well respected Bishop guide service, offers introductory backcountry ski and avalanche safety courses at June — a perfect choice for skiers new to off-piste pursuits.