Sonora Pass turns (snowboarding) & Crate r Mtn hike

“SnowDude's parents were visiting in Mammoth. I just had to be back for dinner, so I had both days to hike.

Saturday photos from snowboarding at Sonora Pass:
http://community.webshots.com/album/472948433IwMGFq

Sat I went to Sonora Pass to meet up with Tie Dye Bill and his friends (Team Tie Dye). I tried to snowboard, but it was icy. I fell on my first turn and hit my left knee and right thumb. All the years of snowboarding and I've never hit that hard. :-( I tried one more run and called it a day. My friend Bill has skiid every month for 132 months now. That's 11 years straight. They consider 10 turns a day. I'm not sure how many turns I got, but I sure didn't link them. They ski moguls, so they do kick turns and make it look easy. It was fun seeing Bill and meeting his friends. One of the guys demonstrated "stupid human tricks", skiing down a rock slope with lots of padding. He was making turns, and his skis didn't look too bad after.

Sunday: (working on photos)
Before going to bed checked my books and maps. I decided to hike Crater Mtn on Sun, the volcanic craters just south of Mono Lake. I had not heard from Skibum (internet friend) so I thought I was solo this trip. I had a problem with the gas cap on the jeep and got delayed 45 min. I went to Looney Bean to get coffee, and Skibum was there! He called 2 min before I arrived! Great timing! So we went hiking. We started up the wrong road, but took the scenic route/loop to the summit. We got to see a lot of cool obsidian formations that we would have missed if we went the right way! It was a fun day, ending with Lobster Taquitos at Whoa Nelli Deli!
last edited: 10/11/05 3:03:49 PM”

“Photos from Crater Mountain (9,172'):
http://community.webshots.com/album/474083307YIeDlt”

“You guys are figgin nuts! LOL Rock skiing??? I've only seen that done on Warren Miller's films, there pretty good shows.

Just can't wait for ski season, eh? I don't blame you. We'll have a little while 'till that happens. Looks like you guys had a great time.”

“This is the month for route deviations and beautiful rock, huh? Love the obdidian. I may take that same wrong road when I'm over in that area next.”

“Wow, I've heard of sand skiing but never rock! Kind of cool though. How long did you end up hiking on Sunday? It looked like quite a distance!

I'm glad your shoulder is good. How's the knee and thumb? Still using the Canon s-50?”

“SB, I'm not in a hurry for ski season. I was solo and just looking for something to do that wasn't going to get me in trouble like last weekend. Seemed like a good time to see what people on the Mammoth forum rave about when they say they got their "turns" for the month. Guess that kind of skiing is "not my thing". It was fun to spend the day with them. My hiking season is cut short so I'm not ready for the slopes yet.

wbp: There are so many roads out there we thought we found the right one. I've never walked through so much obsidian, espacially boulders of it. It was nice. Skibum is into geology, so he really enjoyed it.

KD: I thought Corey was kidding. It was entertaining to watch. The hike was 4.51 miles according to what I drew on topo. It was 3 hrs up, and 50 min down with a little over 1/2 hr at the top. Neck and shoulders are sore from sitting at the computer. Knee is a light green shade and the thumb is tender to touch. The S50 died awhile ago. I got two S70s since. One that lasted 4 months before I dropped it in the creek in Aug, and the new S70 was for the Mt Dubois trip (paid extra to get it for the weekend). The S80 is coming out this month, so when I get it SnowDude will get my S70.

Back to work!”

“That poor guy always ends up with the cast-offs!”

“The Killing Dance is Tango FYI. I'll look into that s-80.”

“SN..Great pictures! I love the group picture with you all in tie dye shirts & even one in tie dye pants HA!!! It is a very cute picture!
Panda looks sweet :)
I can't believe there was enough snow to ski on this early..I have heard of sand skiing but not rock skiing. How is your knee and thumb? That is another beautiful area!

And Crater mountain what a neat hike..another very unique area for sure...all those mini like summits on top...I always wondered what that area was like..thank you for sharing your pictures. Boy are we lucky to have the Sierra's so close..they offer so much and each area a little different and each area has something unique I think :)
Nice picture of Snowdude & his parents!”

“Thanks Tango! I’m lost with who’s who anymore. The S80 looks pretty cool! http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05082205canons80.asp

BM: He doesn't mind. I use it more than he does.

MiT: I like the tie dye! Bill made a custom tank for me. Told me to send anything and he'll color it for me. It really wasn't skiable unless you can do the kick turns. I couldn't. Its beautiful there. Crater was also beautiful! Especially the obsidian piles!

SnowDude's parents vacation ended with a missed flight, and an extra day trying to get to the airport. My 4Runner died and had to be towed to Mammoth. Luckily they were only a few miles away. They didn't have the parts (water pump and timing belts) so they rented a car to get back to LA. 3 hrs later they called to say it was done, so they drove back to Mammoth, got the 4Runner and got home after midnight. They were up early and off to the airport.”