Trimmer Peak - checking out "The Elevens"

After my last weeks outing in the Carson Pass area, I was hoping for a little more snow on the north facing slopes in the Tahoe region, maybe even enough for a ski tour. However, due to the absence of the white stuff up to almost 8000 ft, I had to leave the skis in the car and took my snowshoes along instead. For my goal today I chose Trimmer Peak, a prime view point on the south end of Lake Tahoe. Trimmer peak is also known for the so-called "Elevens", two twin avalanche scars in the forest of Trimmers north face. These scars (which can be seen on the satellite images as well) supposedly offer the perfect angle (around 30-35°) and tree spacing for a fine backcountry skiing pitch in the Tahoe area.

When arriving at my starting point (the parking lot at the dead end of High Meadow Trail), it is obvious that I brought my skis for the birds. There is no snow in sight anywhere close. So, I pack my snowshoes onto my backpack and hike along the summer trail for about 0.6 miles, until shortly after a small hut. There I turn southeast into the forest. After getting to the power line and following it for a while, I turn south up the hill, in the forest with lots of dead wood on the ground. At an altitude of approximately 8000 ft I finally reach a point where there's enough snow on the ground to put on my snowshoes. From the steep north side of the ridge I switch over to the south side which leads to a saddle at around 8300 ft and from there I continue southwards - now pretty steep (30-35°) up to a shoulder at 9000 ft.

Here I see the summit of Trimmer Peak the first time today. I bypass a rock formation on the right (west) side and then head straight to the summit. In order to get to the highest point I have to take my snow shoes off and climb up the rocky but easy ridge. The view to Lake Tahoe from here is truly spectacular, mostly because Trimmer Peak is the first big mountain south of the lake. It almost feels like your on a balcony high above Lake Tahoe.

After an extended break I then walk back down. Even though I don't have my skies with me I still want to check out "The Elevens" of course. In order to get there, I first walk down the way I came up, and at around 9100 ft, I traverse into the north face until I get to the first "scar" in the forest. (To enjoy even more of "The Elevens" it would most likely make sense to drop into the north face at around 9400 ft already). Even though with skis this pitch would have been even more fun, I still enjoy "The Elevens".

At around 7700 ft the snow gets sparse and I walk down along the north side of the little creek to an altitude of about 7500 feet and head north (almost without altitude loss) through the forest and a few unpleasant bushes to get to the summer trail which takes me back to the parking lot.


I found a very good description of the backcountry ski tour to Trimmer Peak on skitahoebackcountry.com. It not only describes "The Elevens", but also other possible options on this mountain.