06-08-2015-Hotlum/Wintun Snowfield

The current conditions are pretty darn good out of the Brewer Creek trailhead and on the "Hotoon" route. You can drive to the trailhead now.  Wilderness permits, summit passes and human waste packout bags (inside the bathroom) are availabe for self issue at the TH. Skiing conditions are good, albeit a bit sticky in the afternoon. One must walk to treeline (1-2 miles) before snow is found. Overall the snow surface is smooth and quite pleasurable to ski. It's almost impossible to get the entire route in perfect shape, but somewhere along the 6,000 vertical feet of beautiful spring skiing you'll find some decent turns. The upper mountain has been generally firm. That said, a few small wet loose point release slides have been easily triggerable on steeper terrain during the warm afternoon hours. Lower elevations are hosting sloppy, poor skiing. A beacon, shovel and probe is currently recommended. Rockfall has been low but always be on the look out, espectially 11,000 feet and above. Wear a helmet!

This route is pretty straight forward with a couple variations possible near the top. All chutes and variations are filled in as of now. Where most people run into trouble is descending back to their car. It's common to miss your vehicle too far to the south (skiers right). Skiers tend to try and ski as low as possible on the long fingers of snow that extend below treeline...while we don't blame them, this will take one to far to the south. When descending, be sure to make a gradual trend skiers left, aligning yourself between Ash Creek Butte and the large lava flow that abrubtly drops off at around 9,000 feet. You will need to take your skis off to make this traverse. If you put yourself in between these two land forms, you'll nail the descent every time. Again, just remember to trend left at the base of the lava flow at about 9,000 feet, not too far, but by placing yourself in between the two land forms of Ash Creek Butte (pretty obvious butte to the east of the mountain and still has a little snow left on it) and the blocky lava flow.