Day 1 of Eastern Sierra backcountry skiing trip. After some exciting 4WDing we started out on the way late side (only 1 of the 4 of us was a morper aka morning person). At a fast clip (too fast for day 1!) we skinned up the firm, unending slopes to the right of the main gully, the defining feature of the lower slopes of Basin. Overcast skies kept us cool but the altitude started to kick my ass. A couple hrs in and I started falling behind. Nearing the Basin I finally fell apart. Heartbeat in the head etc. I bailed out on a rock and watched my friends zigzagging up toward the shoulder of South Basin. A few min later 1 friend bailed too and skied down to pass out on the rock. Then another. Finally the last of our party turned around at the ridge faced with blasting winds and fast-approaching storm clouds. We all struck out on the summit.

But the ski down the Main Gully was great... thousands of feet of vert and we managed to ride it almost all the way back to the car. Back in Bishop we chugged dozens of huge Gatorades and started resting up for day 2...