It was the best of snow, it was the worst (or lack) of snow.
Backcountry skate skiing in Desolation Wilderness.
The trip up to Lake Aloha was a good as it gets, perfect, smooth consolidated corn with a great freeze overnight. We took a few Sugar Bowl Academy kids on this one to show them the joys of backcountry skating and they performed incredibly well. So did all our skis, until we ran out of snow. — imnxcguy
There’s still lots of snow, but not quite enough to connect all the dots.
The rest was a tedious bushwhack through willow-infested creek beds, rock hopping (in skate boots), and more. Slopes we normally cruise down below Velma Lakes were almost devoid of snow, making travel slow going. But we survived with only a few scrapes and scratches, and luckily, no broken gear or bones. All the Eagle Lake tourists who saw us walking out carrying skis were wondering a bit where the heck we came from.
Skiing across Echo Lake was as smooth and good as it gets.
See more photos in the original BCTalk thread about Tahoe Conditions for the 2013/14 Season.
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