Report from May 22, 2026
We saw that the weather wasn’t favorable this day, but JZ was free and it was the only day he could ski, so we went because JZ is rad to be around. And we love this zone and want to learn more. We’d only ever skied 2 little chutes on the edge of the zone and were excited to delve deeper.
Lower Lamarck Lake Basin, CA
“Dr. Feelgood Chute”
Details
- Summit (actually a ridgeline): 12,186 feet
- Car: 9,260 feet
- Vertical From Car: 2,897 feet
- Vertical skied: 1,100 feet (736 feet in the chute/apron)
- Max Pitch: 40º
- Avg Pitch: 38º
- Aspect: North
- Distance: 9.5-miles round trip
- Time From Car to Top: 5 hours and 14 minutes
- Car to Car Time: 7 hours & 08 minutes
- Recommended Equipment: Crampons, Ice Axe x2, skins
Up at 6 am.
Hiking by 8:30 am.
By 9:30 a.m., clouds were already starting to swirl.
The hike up the trail was quick, with me trailing far behind the fleet-footed JZ and Fox.
They waited for me at Lower Lamarck Lake, where we took a break and drank in the view.
Clouds were buddying up at this point.
Navigating around the lakes to get to the snow was mind-consuming and fun.
Once on snow, the light was flashing through the canyon like a warning.
We had 2 chutes to choose from, which we named “Haf Chub” & “Dr. Feelgood.” Dr. Feelgood looked cooler and was a bit farther, so we went for it.
The light got more and more tiger-striped as we climbed until it just closed out completely.
Fortunately, the chute had gotten enough light that morning that the snow had melted into a succulent, carvable corn.
We didn’t feel any rush on top until I looked back to 13,417′ Mt. Lamarck and could barely see it.
It was snowing pretty decently over there and it was headed our way.
Fox clicked in and dropped, me right after, then JZ with his dogger, Sarah last.
The skiing was good. Fast, flowy turns on an orange peel corn allowed for blowing the tails out, slide turns, and carves.
The ski was damn fun, and we rejoiced at the bottom. “
A long walk for a short ski.”
The chute and apron only added up to about 700 vertical feet and we miled another 400 vert in the lowers back down to our shoes.
It snowed as we skied down, but chilled out once we found our shoes.
Shoes on, tricky navigation back to the trail, then easy walking, happy conversations, and the anticipation of a good time in Bishop awaited. JZ’s battery had died, so it took us a bit to get a jump, but once we did, we dove into Bishop with a fury.
New battery, checked the Owens River Distillery, but their food truck wasn’t open, so we defaulted to the unbelievably good “Taqueria Mi Guadalajara” taco truck, which was open and lovely as ever.
I gorged on an Al Pastor burrito and some nachos that Fox bought. So damn good.
Thanks, California!
Photos in Chronological Order
