Tahoe Light Photography » Action/Sport

Sawtooth range High Sierra backpacking cross country routes

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:51:48 +0000

Our campsite in the meadow below Return Lake, looking across at Excelsior Mountain and Shepherd Crest at sunset. The meadow made much better camping than Return Lake as it had more flat spots, lots of running water and less mosquitoes.

by Scott Sady

Day 1: Green Lakes trail head over Virginia Pass. Our first day started easily enough at Green lakes trail-head. Starting elevation was 7800 feet. We followed the trail to Green Lakes, then cross country to Virginia pass at 10550 ft. There was a decent use trail up to the pass and down the back side. Shortly after starting down the back, we then cut due west cross country to camp in a meadow below return lake and Virginia Peak.

Day 2: Stanton Pass to Spiller Creek. From the meadow just below Return Lake, which had beautiful running streams and far less mosquitoes and more flat area than Return Lake, we proceeded to the pass between Virginia Peak and Stanton Peak.
The book describes this as class 3 but it is actually a very hard class three. The low point or true saddle is not what you must aim for as we found out having to downclimb and aim for a higher point as far climber’s right as you can get, just left of a large peaklet that marks the start of Virginia Peak.
The Down-climb into the canyon is treacherous over steep and endless scree fields. We were destroyed by the end of the day and camped in the first semi-flat place we could find above the meadows.

Day 3: Spiller Creek Canyon. From a high meadow just below Virginia Peak we made our way on tired legs slowly down into Spiller Creek Canyon. After a short decent of a few hundred feet we hit treeline. The forest quickly closed in about us but opened up in front of us making for easy traveling. Bear scat was everywhere and wildflowers painted the forest floor with every imaginable color. From our nights perch just below the snowfield that formed the headwaters of Spiller Creek, we eventually came to the creek itself. We followed the water downstream staying on the north east side as the terrain alternated between open forest and meadows crisscrossed by snowmelt streams at regular intervals. Every now and then we would get a stark reminder of natures awesome power in the form of massive avalanche paths. The kind that only happen every hundred years or so. Abruptly the forest would end on a sometimes 1/4 mile long swath stripped clear of topsoil and piled high with the skeletons of massive downed trees.
Finally, about a 1/4 mile before we were to reach the junction of the PCT, the forest and meadows gave way to smooth, clean granite. The river cascaded along a granite bed, occasionally turning and slowing enough to form crystal clear and ice cold pools deep enough to swim in. We pitched our tents among the trees back from the waters edge, settled in and took a much needed swim in the icy waters.

Day 4: Spiller Creek to Hoover Lakes. We made Virginia Canyon along return creek in fast time. Nothing much to see until you begin to climb the 900 feet up to Summit Lake. Near the top of the climb is the most spectacular wildflower field I have ever seen with views out towards Virginia Peak and Stanton Peak, the pass we did on our second day.
Summit lake is a beautiful lake with camping space at both ends. We stayed at Hoover lakes surrounded by marmots and mouthy birds. The only camping we could find there was between the two lakes. From Hoover lake we stared up at the backside of Dunderberg peak, which I have skied in winter.
The valley you drop into following the trail past summit lake is straight out of a fantasy movie. High glaciers feed three separate streams that cascade nearly a thousand vertical feet before joining at the valley floor and rushing away. One of the streams springs out from a football sized hole in the very mountain itself. I made the climb up to the surging spring and drank the best tasting water straight from the mouth of the mountain.

Day 5: Hoover Lakes back to trail-head. The final day was a fairly non-eventful hike downhill back to the trail-head. The only real camping along this area is at East Lake, large with good swimming, and Green Lake, which has at least two really built up camp-sites, complete with giant cut benches made out of downed trees, and massive fire-pits. Though since Green Lake is only a few miles from the trail-head, you will have company.

All these images and more are available for sale or license at my stock image archive. Also see our trip report from the Ansel Adams wilderness and Minaretes last year.

Reaching Green Lake after a 2.5 mile hike from the trail-head, and looking across at the cross-country route we had selected to start our trip across the Sawthooth's.

Heading up Virginia Pass after leaving the trail at Green Lakes. There is a subtle, but decent use trail that goes to the top of the pass, and I would consider this a fairly easy climb up to 10,550ft.

Our route up Virginia Pass after leaving the trail at Green Lakes. There is a subtle, but decent use trail that goes to the top of the pass, and I would consider this a fairly easy climb up to 10,550ft.

On top of Virginia Pass at 10,550 ft. Looking across at Stanton Peak and Stanton Pass, which we will hit the next day.

On top of Stanton Pass after two attempts. We aimed for the low spot in the saddle, but it was all cliffs on the other side. Then we scouted and found a steep gully route near the base of Virginia Peak. The book The High Sierra by R.J. Secor describes a ledge ascent that leads to a notch on the ridge below Stanton peak, but as it was covered in snow on the approach, we don't know if this was easier or not. This was a very difficult pass with hands and feet scrambling on loose talus. We had to take the girls packs for them to make it.

The back side of Stanton Pass into Spiller Creek canon after two attempts. This was a long and steep talus downclimb.

Heading down into the untouched headwaters of Spiller Creek with our objective for the next day, Matterhorn Pass, visible as the low saddle at top right.

Camp for the night in Spiller Creek. After much discussion of our depleted physical state after Stanton Pass, and the possibility that Matterhorn Pass would be just as hard, though only a class 2 downclimb after a class 3 ascent, we decided to head down Spiller Creek and hook up with the PCT.

Heading through amazing fields of wildflowers down into Spiller Creek canyon.

Spiller Creek canyon was a true gem. No trails, no sign of humanity and we never saw either a person or a hint of a campsite. Here we take a lunch break in a massive avalanche path. Note all the trees strewn about like twigs.

Heading through amazing fields of wildflowers in Spiller Creek canyon. The canyon was untouched by humanity and very easy to navigate.

Pumping water on a beautiful flat slab of granite along Spiller Creek. Up to this point there were no trails and no signs of human presence in the entire canyon. We felt like it was ours alone. This campsite rates among the best I ever had.

Finally came to a rest about 1/4 mile before reaching the PCT on a beautiful flat slab of granite along Spiller Creek. Up to this point there were no trails and no signs of human presence in the entire canyon. We felt like it was ours alone. This campsite rates among the best I ever had. Loads of flat, clean granite to stretch out on, play games, do yoga, and an exceptional swimming hole if you explore up-river.

One of the may species of wildflowers that literally littered the entire canyon floor, was wild onion. So we picked a few for dinner to season up our lentle and rice mix. MMmmmm!

A night exposure by the full moon near our campsite along Spiller Creek.

After recouping our strength from the difficult climb up Stanton Pass, we changed our original plans and looped back towards our starting point at Green Lake. We followed Virginia Canyon back uphill, paralleling Spiller Creek Canyon, though this time on a trail. Here we are with a brave young buck just about to ascend out of the canyon to Summit Lake.

Most of Virginia Canyon was an easy, but underwhelming hike on a well used trail. But the last 1/4 mile before reaching Summit Lake revealed the best wildflower fields I have ever seen.

Most of Virginia canyon was an easy, but underwhelming hike on a well used trail. But the last 1/4 mile before reaching Summit Lake revealed the best wildflower fields I have ever seen. Here we are looking back at Stanton and Virginia peaks and the pass between them that we climbed 2 days prior.Most of Virginia canyon was an easy, but underwhelming hike on a well used trail. But the last 1/4 mile before reaching Summit lake revealed the best wildflower fields I have ever seen. Here we are looking back at Stanton and Virginia peaks and the pass between them that we climbed 2 days prior.

Summit Lake and back out of Yosemite National Park and into the Hoover Wilderness again.

A Yosemite park boundary marker from 1906.

Our trial and error route up Stanton Pass. The yellow line is the line we think is described in very little detail in The High Sierra by R.J.Secor. But we could not find a viable approach, possibly due to snow. The Red route is our initial climb. Class 3, fairly straight-forward, but closed out on the descent by cliffs. The green route up the steep gully below the edge of Virginia Peak ended up being our route. We had to go back down a third time and get the girls packs for them to make it. Class 3 on both sides, hands and feet mandatory on the ascent.

Our campsite at Hoover Lakes. Not much of a choice, but nice for us, and not a soul in sight.

The way down from Summit Lake to Green lake was marked by numerous stream crossings. Some pretty stout. Springtime in August. You gotta love it.

284 miles to the nearest Starbucks

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:13:53 +0000

284 miles to the nearest Starbucks. That’s what my GPS said as I hit the road fuzzy-eyed after camping out in the middle of Southern Utah. I would have better luck getting a cup of coffee on the moon. Utah truly is the land that caffeine forgot.

Let me back up a second. Monique and I had hit the road not so much for a photography road trip, as my annual pilgrimage to Colorado for the freestyle kayaking competition circuit. First stop, the legendary Teva Mountain Games at 8200 feet in Vail, Colorado.

On our way out, we decided to take the loneliest highway, highway 50, partly because I hate traffic, but mostly because it is cool and quirky. There were a million things I would have loved to spend time photographing, but we only had two days to get to Vail, so that will wait for another trip. We stopped in Ely, NV, for lunch, where I discovered that Bell Telephone actually becomes the Empire and invents the Death Star. It’s right there on a mural painted on their office wall.

Next we found a great hotsprings near the town of Meadow, UT. Giant hot pools with an underground cave. Unfortunately, we had to spend about an hour in the wee hours of the morning cleaning up after the locals, but then we had the place to ourselves and really relaxed. It was after this energy sapping soak in hot mineral water that I really needed my coffee. Alas, we had to wait to Colorado. A whole state away for coffee!

Once in Colorado, we high-tailed it to the town of Vail, home to the famous ski resort of the same name. The Teva Mountain Games are huge. The creek where we were competing, however was very small. Small, ice cold and did I mention at 8200 feet? Nevertheless, I had some good rides between gasps for oxygen and made the semi-finals in my first appearance there. I was happy.

From there we hit Lyons, Colorado. Lyons starts the string of cool kayaking communities in which there are only 2 requirements. A whitewater park and a brewery. Colorado has nearly 20 man-made whitewater parks on existing rivers. More than all the other states combined. Colorado has quickly found out that constructing these boater friendly parks is inexpensive, and pays huge dividends in increased tourism. I am currently in Salida, CO, home to the longest running whitewater festival in the country, FIBARK. Going strong for over 60 years, it turned its first profit the year after they build several whitewater features on the Arkansas river that runs through downtown. Many other small communities quickly followed suit, seeing the goldmine created by recreation on about the only things many of these old mining towns have left – water. I really wish California and Nevada would get off their duff and follow through on existing plans for expanding recreation in Reno and Chico. The Reno whitewater park is about the most successful thing that city has build in 20 years.

Many of these photos were shot by Monique while I was boating.

This mural on the Ely Bell Telephone building proves that Bell systems eventually becomes the Empire and invents the Death Star.

Soaking in the Utah Hotsprings after cleaning it up.

Monique floats in the steamy waters at sunrise.

Clouds and sun-rays held sway for the Teva Mountain Games. It was scalding hot when the sun was out, and cold when it went behind the clouds.

They kayaking competition venue at Teva is unique. First, thousands of people actually come out to watch, tens of thousands for the finals. Second, you are surrounded 360 degrees by spectators on bridges surrounding the feature.

Lyons, CO, is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, a mere 30 miles up the road.

Most of the park was still covered in snow, but near the 12,000 foot pass, the water cascading down this alluvial fan was a little lighter than the near flood levels of the rivers below.

Back down in Lyons, I was immersed in the comptitions. Fortunately, I had enough sense to keep out of the boater-cross this year, as one competitor finds out while getting hit in the face....with a boat!

A picture Monique shot of me practicing in the feature on the St. Vrain river, below flower-filled bluffs.

Another rough end to a boater-cross competitor.

Kayaker sprawl. Don't worry, we left no trace.

Lake Tahoe ski photography at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:38:40 +0000

As the midway point of what really has been an epic season so far, I thought I’d post up a few of the recent shots I have done for Mt. Rose and also open up a call for models. Most of the early season, I have to admit to being a little lazy photographically. We had so many great storms one on top of the other that all I wanted to do was ski, un-encumbered by my heavy camera gear. All through December and January we hiked the backcountry, tracked at the resorts almost by ourselves and generally had a great time. Then came the long dry spell. At last, finally a little motivation to get back to work. We took advantage of the long dry warm January to actually shoot these spring skiing promo shots. That’s right, skiing in a bikini in mid January. Now the storm cycles are back and my biggest restrictions are the un-predictability of bluebird mornings and the need to get a hold of good riders real fast. So feel free to hit me up in the comments section if you ride well and have some spur of the moment availability these next few months. Otherwise, enjoy.

A last minute shoot the otherday when it unexpectedly cleared up and left us some blower Tahoe powder.

Another deep tahoe powder shot at Mt. Rose

I'm still a sucker for the powder 8's

Switching gears for a little mid-winter spring skiing

Carving up the groomers and looking good at it.

One of the promo shots being used by Mt. Rose.

Tahoe ski photography

admin — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:02:19 +0000

This is what I call a two-fer. I had this location on Incline peak scouted for this shot on a clear day. Unfortunately when that clear day arrived, my wife was the only person available to hike up there with me. Fortunately she is a good photographer, so I schlepped the cameras up, set up the shot and had her pull the trigger while I skied the line and we ended up on the cover of this year's Lake Tahoe winter recreation guide.

My how cluttered our digital lives are getting. I remember when the internet made things quicker and easier. We had search engines for looking up stuff instead of going to the library, and we had email instead of mailing letters and waiting weeks. When did it all get so complicated? Just trying to keep up with letting anyone at all find me and my work now requires hours of web updates, managing my mobile searchable archive of stock images, keeping up with the facebook posts for our wedding photography business, keeping up with the summer blog posts for Reno Mountain Sports, which sponsors me as a semi-pro freestyle kayaker, and who knows what else. Time flies by in a whirlwind of shooting and sitting and I am only just realizing that I have been ignoring my main stock photography blog for nearly a year now.

Well, the other day it snowed on us and today dawned the coldest day yet, so I figure it is a good time to get pumped up about skiing and post some of my favorite ski images from the lake tahoe area from last season. Some of this work comes from the advertising work I do at Mt. Rose and some just for fun. Ski photography is really tricky. You can have great riders, and great snow and a great sky, but they rarely all come together at the same time. I think we had only two really deep bluebird powder days all last season. Most of the powder days were cloudy. One took me completely by surprise and I found myself up at Mt. Rose early during what was predicted to be a cloudy and stormy day, staring at 2 feet of snow and blue skies with no riders in site. After a quick phone call to the resort’s PR folks, we decided it would be worth a try to get something, so I grabbed some skiers out of the line and a couple of patrollers and we tried to make some shots. They were good, but still nothing like having a couple of pro riders there who can hit their marks and look good doing it.

Enjoy the photos, here is a quick link to my archive of winter stock photographs which you photo buyers out there can feel free to search.

Mt. Rose added a new dimension to their special events by hosting the first (that we know of) snow boater cross on the west coast. I was both competing and photographing this event. This shot of Jr. World champion kayaker Jason Craig was used by National Geographic Adventure for thier best adventure town blurb on Reno

A sunrise backflip on skis near the Mt. Rose summit. I had hoped Moment skis might be interested in trading one of these shots for some gear since my skis are getting busted up, but no bites yet.

Another big air shot on Moment Nighttrain skis

Even the little tykes love the backcountyr. Here 7 year-old Blaise poses on his custom kiddie Moment skis, handmade in Reno.

Well, we are in the wild west, so Moment rider Jared and I decided to screw around one day and borrowed a six shooter and some cowboy gear for this shot that we thought might be interesting.

JJ Shiller at the subaru freeskiing world championship competition at Kirkwood 2010

I was experimenting with my Go Pro camera set to shoot still photos to see if I could get an interesting angle on powder skiing. It didn't quite work, but next snowfall I know what to do to make it sing.

These are a few shots from the pond skim at Mt. Rose ski tahoe. I did the photography for them, I was also the forerunner for the course.

This year I was the forerunner for the course, which was a good thing because it was a very cold morning and we had the original start area so high up that I flew across the water, caught huge air on the exit and barely stopped before I crashed through the gate on my first run. We made a few adjustments and got it nice and friendly for the competitors. You can have a look at my POV video of the first few runs here.

Carving the groomers at Mt. Rose. This is a variation on one of the photos they used for a highway billboard and as their facebook icon for a while.

Mark riding rails at Mt. Rose ski tahoe.

Schmearing that turn

We wanted a few shots from Mt. Rose to show the beautifull falloff into the dry desert of Washoe Valley. Just a note to you budding pro riders out there, you can have super cool modern clothes and that is a good thing, but about 70% of what buyers choose to publish from my images involve red or yellow. Just food for thought.

Looking for the light in the backcounty near Donner Summit.

A little backcountry skiing with some great Lake Tahoe views

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:10:07 +0000

Well, I have been waiting basically all winter for a nice, cloudless sunrise with some soft snow and I finally got it. Only problem is that most of the skiers I work with, riders for the Reno-made Moment Skies, were off in Salt Lake City for some skiing and a big winter sports tradeshow thing. So even without some great riders, I decided I would roust my wife out of bed at 4am and test out a couple of locations for next time. Monique is a photographer as well, so I attempted to be the ski-model standin. We used google earth to determine where first light would hit and I set myself up on top of a rock above Mt. Rose highway. Sure enough, the sun rose right in my face and I skied down a field of soft pink snow. Next we went up to Incline peak to get some standard shots with a lake view. For want I want up there, I’m hiking up a telephoto lens next time to get closer to the action and fill the background with the lake. Any of these pictures and many more stock images from the area can be keyword searched from my online archive of Tahoe area action and lifestyle photography. Now all we need is one more nice soft clear Tahoe sunrise…. I am also always looking for talented young skiers and riders who don’t mind getting up early or staying out late to get the shot. Feel free to contact me via the contact link above to talk about ideas.

I was up top scoping the light on a 15 foot jump with Monique waiting at bottom to get a few pictures as I came down to see how the red snow at dawn photographed. When I can get back with some riders throwing tricks off the rocks, at sunrise, this area could be really good!

Crossing the frozen Incline Lake on skis

This is one of many cool shots with snow covered trees we grabbed while skinning up Incline Peak.

Cresting the summit of Incline Peak on skis with Lake Tahoe in the background.

Me standing on top of Incline peak preparing to jump off the ridge. This shot worked fine, but I need a telephoto to make anything good out of the cornice drops.

Backcountry skiing off the top of Incline Peak with sweeping views of Lake Tahoe

I made a couple of quick turns around Monique to see if we could get anything, but the clouds were moving in quick and the Lake was turning grey. I'll just have to head back.