Report from May 23, 2025

Mt. Humphreys is one of 4 Eastern Sierra peaks on my wedding ring.

I’d skied one of the east chutes last year.

It was time to go back for the classic Northeast Chute.

But I wasn’t alone.

We were a huge crew of 9 marauding uphill.

13,996′ Mt. Humphreys

“Northeast Couloir”

Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

• Summit (actually a ridgeline):  13,600 feet
• Car:  8,900 feet
• Vertical From Car:  4,700 feet 
• Vertical skied:  1,300′ in the Northeast Couloir & Apron, 1,500′ of glorious corn down to Longely Lake, 900′ more down to the snow line (4,200 total)
  
• Max Pitch:  45+º
• Average Pitch:  40º
• Aspect:  Northeast
• Distance:  8.5-miles round trip
• Time From Car to Summit:  5 hours & 20 minutes
• Car to Car Time:  8 hours & 11 minutes
• Recommended Equipment:  crampons, ice axe x2, skins

Up at 4 am.

On the road by 5 am.

A rowdy road.

The Buttermilk Road can be a beat down.

Greggy’s X-Terra handles it well, and we made it to the Upper Buttermilk Trailhead, which I’d never done before.

With shoes on, skis and boots on packs, 9 intrepid explorers set out.

I was last…

That was the theme of the day.

These guys are fast.

We hiked on a nice dirt trail up to Longley Lake.

Boots and skins on at the lake and we were off.

The group split in 2 here, with some choosing left of the lake and up the gentler slope and the other going right of the lake and traversing across the steeps directly into the upper bowl.

Right won.

We caught up at the base of the chute, where we all transitioned to boot crampons.

3 hours and 44 minutes to the base of the chute.

It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to boot up the chute.

Greggy and I were last.

Some guys had so much juice left the skied and and hiked up the North Couloir of Humphreys and skied that one, too!

The view from the top is wild.

The Humphreys Basin on the west side is surprisingly flat.

Far off peaks and a still massive snowpack blanketed the western range.

I let the other 8 guys groom the run for me, and I dropped last.

The top was steep and chalky.

45º.

Past the choke, things opened up, the snow softened, and I was able to hit the throttle.

The skiing was good right down onto the apron.

The moonscape of the upper bowl warped my mind and brought relief.

The bootpack up was brutal, and it was great to be down safe.

The slopes above the lake skied like a cornfield dream.

From the lake, it was a hike & ski down to about 9,400′.

We only had to walk 500 vertical feet of the 4,700′ climbed.

We bumbled back to the cars, happy and ready for food.

The hardcore 4x4ing back to Bishop shook us all up pretty good.

In Bishop, we held nothing back.

• Holy Smokes BBQ
• Shat’s Bakkery
• Salt Ice Creamery
• Swimming In The Owens River

We’d left the house at 5 am and weren’t back until 8 pm.

A full value day with a truly awesome crew.

These are the good old days.

Thanks, California!

Photos in Chronological Order