Rubicon Peak - My first skitour of the season and skiing premiere in California

On my hike down from Freel Peak two weeks ago, I met two locals from the Tahoe region and asked them about back country skiing in this area. They recommended the west side of Lake Tahoe and its mountains there. After some research I found Rubicon Peak to be a good starting point for my Sierra Nevada ski adventures. It's not too difficult of a tour but the summit block still offers a little bit of scrambling and supposedly the peak has a very nice view over Lake Tahoe.

Since Rubicon Peak lies within the borders of the Desolation Wilderness, I tried to organize a (free) day use permit from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (530 543-2600). However, the lady at the other end of the phone said "don't worry about it". I guess in the wintertime you only need permits when staying overnight. I also asked her how the snow situation is "up there" and she said that the last storm supposedly dropped 19 inches of snow (= half a meter) in this area which should give plenty of cushioning for the rocks.

The directions how to get to the starting point of the tour (see above) sound more complicated than they are. It's basically getting to the top of the neighborhood area at Rubicon Bay. I park right at the gate at the end of Highland Road and put my skis on. Since the last snowfall 2 or 3 skiers have already been up to Rubicon Peak and I find a ski track starting right after the gate. Finding the way up to Rubicon Peak would probably be rather easy anyway. The route first follows the short path on the left up to the water reservoir and then basically follows along the NE ridge which later turns into the not very distinct N ridge.

The promised 19 inches of snow seem a little exaggerated, at least there are plenty of rocks and dead tree branches still sticking out of the snow. For a minute I'm thinking about returning to my car and getting the snowshoes instead of going up there with my skis, but then my laziness wins over the fear of getting scratches in my relatively new skis. The ski track is laid very aggressive and often takes the steepest possible route... (is this the Californian way or just the personal style of the skier who went up there first? I guess I'll find out as I do more ski tours here). Anyway, after a little about 2 hours I get to the base of the peak where I leave my skis and continue by foot. The easiest way to the very top requires some rock scrambling, but is not too difficult. I find my way up there in the west flank - there are probably different possibilities. With snow and ice present crampons and an ice pick might be a good idea. I didn't need those aids and wouldn't have had them with me anyway.

The peak definitely offers a marvelous view over Lake Tahoe and its surrounding mountains. Originally I also planned to add the close neighbors Peak 9269 and Jakes Peak to the agenda, but the rather meager snow situation stopped me from doing so. Instead I enjoy the excellent view and the warm sun, before I climb back down to my skis. Instead of following the route which I came up I ski a slightly different route down (as one of the skier before me did). It takes a little detour in the NW flank and gets back to the ascending route at around 7800 ft. My defensive skiing technique in the nice powder prevented some serious scratches, but I could not completely avoid one or the other. Some more snow definitely would not hurt!

I also have to get used to the fact that the peaks around Lake Tahoe are mostly under or only somewhat above the tree line and therefore skiing is mostly in the forest here. However the forest is not very dense and curving around trees can be fun too.