The Mountains of California
   
 
 
This is a picture taken from a tub on the top of a small knoll in the middle of a field just before a storm hit the area. We soaked in this one for somthing like three hours. The last rays of the sun are just kissing the top of the distant peak.
   
This craggy peak just erupted out of the clouds one morning infront of us. It is directly accross from the green brick church on 395 north of Bishop.
   
In the area of Hot Creek in the Sierras, the locals tap the natural hot springs and sometimes pipe the water to large outdoor tubs that are either natural depressions in the rock or are built up with stone and concrete. The drive requires a 4X4, snow chains and often some hiking/snowshoeing, but it is SO worth the hassle. We camped at this one and I got to soak in it first thing in the morning. Not a bad way to start a day.
   
The Eastern Sierras one quiet Monday morning after a storm blew through. This shot was taken near the Mammoth Lakes Airport.
   
A view from the summit of Mount San Antonio or “Mt. Baldy” in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. In the distance on the left one can see the summits of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. I was up on a February day, but there was little ice or snow and there was blue sky everywhere.
   
This is the Sierra Club Mount San Antonio X-county Ski hut. It was built in 1936 by UCLA ski mountaineers. It is located on the southern slope of Mt. Baldy, has a capacity of 20 and caretakers reside in the hut year round. It also comes equipped with a living room (there is a great wood stove), kitchen, and dormitory.
   
2006 has been a poor year for snowfall. This is a view of the Devil’s Backbone Ridge (a great route!). There was a light dusting of snow a couple of weeks ago, but as you can see it has completely disappeared from the southern slopes.
The door jam for the hut.
A view down the Devil’s Backbone Route from the summit of Mt. Baldy. There were no ascents via this route on the day that I went up, but there were some twice frozen ski tracks heading back down it from a time when not as much rock was exposed... Mt. Baldy is a popular “backcountry” ski and board mountain when there is snow.
The summit of Mt. San Jacinto rises 10,843' above sea level and overlooks the city of Palm Springs. Just down from the summit is a mountaineers hut built by the CCC in the 30's to be a refuge for hikers and skiers if the weather turned bad once they reached the summit. Hold the curser on the picture and you can see what the hut looks like after a big snow. I didn't take either picture, but I have been to the summit and in the hut.
   
A small cabin above Big Bear. This is the only structure that is left from a mid-1800s gold mining town and it is hard to believe that an entire family of 5 spent years in this 15X20 log home.
 
The view into the desert from the mountians above Big Bear
This is a campsite at the Holcomb Valley Pinnacles that I love to stay at. The road getting there is a 4X4 road, strewn with DEEP ruts, boulders, loose sand and fallen trees.
I wide shot of the Yosemite Valley as it is seen as one drives in from the south and western entrances. Click on for a larger picture.
Bridlevail Falls in the Yosemite Valley.
The valley behind Half Dome in Yosemite as seen from the trail to the top.
The floor of the Valley as seen from the shoulder of Half Dome.
Another shot of the floor of the Valley as seen from the shoulder of Half Dome.
Nevada Falls. It was VERY majestic! Click on for a larger picture.
El Capitan as seen from the road out of the valley.
Taken between Mammoth and Bishop, CA on the way home from a snowboarding trip. The sky was magical that afternoon.

A panoramic shot of part of the Sierra Mountains shot from the Summit ofJune Mountain.