Saturday, January 15, 2005

During my Sierra trip, I read Jared Diamond's Collapse. I pretty much agree with David Brin's review. I would only add that the book, while mostly readable, could have done with some more editing to remove unnecessary repetition here and there. It would also make the book a bit shorter, which would be a benefit to those lugging it cross country, and to the forests. 9:23:20 PM

Terry and I toured from Tioga Pass Resort to Yosemite's East Tioga Pass gate, and then climbed the saddle south of Gaylor Peak, west of the pass. This photo shows Mount Dana with Lion's Head at the lower left. Notice the many avalanche chutes in the trees on the lower apron. The higher West-facing slopes on Dana get a lot of wind and thus a thin and weak snow pack that slides easily. The East-facing slope below us isn't that steep (25 degrees or so), not too wind-loaded, and so relatively safe. It had beautiful snow that afforded a sweet if short run. 8:58:40 PM

I got back from the Sierra Nevada last Sunday, but I've been too busy catching up with work to post anything. As everyone knows from the weather hype in the news, Dec 31-Jan 10's snowfall in the Sierra was out of the ordinary. However, it was possible to move around if you took your time and chose your route carefully. Still, the highlight of the trip, a stay at Tioga Pass Resort, was shortened at the start because a localized storm made it too dangerous to go up for one day, and at the end because a new big storm was coming in and we didn't want to get trapped. Still, we got two beautiful cold sunny days at Tioga Pass in the middle, as well as excellent powder skiing in Tahoe ski areas at both ends. 8:32:28 PM