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| Jon on the ascent |
Scheelite couloir is possibly the most dramatic continuous chute in the Sierra Nevada. There is no approach and it goes for full 6000 vertical feet in a single gully! It just keeps going at steep grade that tops at about 50 deg.
Scheelite, which is a name for tungsten ore, is located in Pine creek canyon near the town of Rovana, 15 miles north of Bishop. Pine creek, and the surrounding Mt Tom and Mt Morrison once hosted the largest tungsten mine in the world. Relics of the massive mining operation are still visible up to 13,000 ft.
Pine creek is also an excellent summer rock climbing destination. There is a selection of multipitch face climbs, bold old school bolted trad lines, and few super-classic cracks such as: Sheila, Rites of Spring, and Pratt's Crack.
Check out the climbing photos at Monster Offwidth dot com: http://www.monsteroffwidth.com/climbing/2007/20070818-pine_creek/index.html )
For years, I have visited this awesome area for the climbing, unsuspecting the amazing, out of the roof ski-mountaineering in the canyon. In February 2011 conditions looked good, and I was lucky to hook up with Jon Crowley, one of the fastest guys on skis in the Eastern Sierra. I had to work hard to keep up with Jon: on the up and on the down. It turned out to be one of the most rewarding half days at the East Side!
Skiing Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/badakov/Scheelite
Scheelite, which is a name for tungsten ore, is located in Pine creek canyon near the town of Rovana, 15 miles north of Bishop. Pine creek, and the surrounding Mt Tom and Mt Morrison once hosted the largest tungsten mine in the world. Relics of the massive mining operation are still visible up to 13,000 ft.
Pine creek is also an excellent summer rock climbing destination. There is a selection of multipitch face climbs, bold old school bolted trad lines, and few super-classic cracks such as: Sheila, Rites of Spring, and Pratt's Crack.
Check out the climbing photos at Monster Offwidth dot com: http://www.monsteroffwidth.com/climbing/2007/20070818-pine_creek/index.html )
For years, I have visited this awesome area for the climbing, unsuspecting the amazing, out of the roof ski-mountaineering in the canyon. In February 2011 conditions looked good, and I was lucky to hook up with Jon Crowley, one of the fastest guys on skis in the Eastern Sierra. I had to work hard to keep up with Jon: on the up and on the down. It turned out to be one of the most rewarding half days at the East Side!
Skiing Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/badakov/Scheelite
fantastic post.
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Saw the first photo and knew that was Crowley. With such a fat year in progress, I think I'm gonna have to finally ski this one.
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