It was early April and I hadn't gone to play in the snow all winter, so I treated myself to a few days off from work and made the long drive from Santa Barbara to Mammoth Lakes. I managed to squeeze in a day of cross-country and a day of downhill, but perhaps of most interest to this community, a day of what I'll describe as "light mountaineering." I'd been planning to hike the long ridge line from Minaret Summit to San Joaquin Mountain for a while and, well, it just seemed way more fun to do it when it was covered in snow!

I drove to Mammoth Main Lodge early Monday morning. Weather was predicted to be calm and clear - the wind can get fierce on the ridge. I set off with bare boots across the ski runs and up the closed Minaret Road. It was a cold morning after a warm day and the snow was firm and crusty, but not quite icy, and I made quick progress up the gentle slopes. I continued with bare boots until Deadman Pass where the terrain gets much steeper and the ridge narrows a bit. I took out the ice axe and crampons and walked along the pass, noting that big chunks of the cornice had recently broken off and slid down into the valley below.

I should emphasize: the views on this route are simply spectacular. You get a panorama of the Ritter Range once you get to Minaret Summit and the views continue to open up as you get further along the ridge. From the summit, I could clearly see so many special places that I had visited in the past few years: Donahue Pass at the head of Lyell Canyon, Thousand Island Lake, Garnet Lake, Shadow Lake, Agnew Meadows and more.

The trip back was long, but peaceful. The snow softened up significantly until I found myself postholing a little too frequently. Reluctantly I donned the snowshoes and plodded back to my car at the ski area.