Bishop Area Snow Conditions??

OpenEyes · Joined: 17 Dec 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Mill Valley

got some time next week and headed for several days in the mountains. anyone got a read on conditions in the bishop area? i figure approaches are shot, but wondering whether the lines (emerson / locke / basin / ...) are still holding enough of the good stuff to make it worth a trip? any info for areas north of there (convict / bloody / virginia lakes / ...) would be appreciated as well

thx for any info.
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jimw · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 376 Location: Santa Cruz, CA

You'd be doing a lot of dirt hiking. Probably still snow up high but dunno if it's worth it. Check http://bishopweather.com/ for a webcam pointed straight at the Buttermilks.

Best eastside bets are probably up Tioga to Saddlebag area, or Sonora. Maybe Bloody.

But really if you can swing it, go to Shasta or Lassen. Apparently it's been awesome up there this week, and their snowpack is about normal instead of dismally below average like the eastside.

Mitch · Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:55 pm Post subject:

Mammoth Crest.

The road to Lake Mary just opened and there is lots of prime corn from Red Cone Bowl all the way over to Duck Pass.

The orographics were good to the crest this lean year. Save Shasta for June and July.

iluka · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Seattle, WA

Here's what we found last weekend up in the Rush Creek drainage and around Donohue Pass...

https://picasaweb.google.com/iluka1968/MountLyell535712

Above 10K, coverage was good. Below that, very poor. South facing slopes had poor coverage in most spots.

bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2792 Location: Bay Area

According to this, the southern Sierra snowpack is below 25% of normal. I'm sure there are some skiable gullies, but it's going to be a thin harvest down there.