Kid Mountain, my personal favorite

Every backcountry skier/boarder has their own recipe for an ideal objective. How big, how long, how dangerous, how likely to get ideal snow conditions, how crowded, all factor into what makes a personal favorite. For me, a couple key factors are I want it to be fairly big, but doable in a 1/2 day. Winter days are short and I have to juggle time with the family, so if I'm going to dedicate the time to travel and prep for a splitboard mission, I want it to be big enough to justify itself. The next and most important aspect to me is the approach to quality descent ratio. I want to get as much good descent as possible out of my work to reach to top and preferably not have to re-skin on the way back. Lastly, ease of access. Other than the less desirable terrain close to home in Big Bear, I'm always traveling in my front wheel drive camper van, and likely with my wife and kids. So, how good the road conditions are, how likely to need to chain up, and how usable the parking area can be for the kids all become very important criteria when selecting a destination. Enter Kid Mountain.

Located out of Big Pine, it is close enough to Mammoth to pair well with some resort days on a trip, but far enough away to see any backcountry traffic. It's also a nice part way stop coming up from Southern California, and is very close to Keough Hot Springs, which is an invaluable tool for striking a deal with the wife and kids to accommodate my splitboard mission. It is uniquely positioned about as far east as any of the Eastern Sierra Peaks, which while limiting usable windows of adequate snow pack, also makes for the greatest likely hood of having a clear snow-free drive to the staging area. Glacier Lodge Rd takes you quickly from the valley floor all the way up to around 7000ft where they keep the road plowed to in the winter. The real kicker though is the combination of the directness of the approach and the length and quality of the descent. After finding a spot to cross the creek adjacent to the parking area, you find yourself right at the base of multiple options for different gullies each with subtle variations in aspect and terrain features to better accommodate different snow accumulation, wind loading and solar warming depending on variable of recent weather. It should also be noted that with any substantial recent snowfall all the gullies are very avalanche prone, so wisdom on where and when to go are pertinent, but there are a lot of options, including the most eastern flank of the mountain that is more tree'd and less steep to keep a safer option if the conditions are risky.

Topping out at around 11,200ft for the more easterly gullies, or 11,500ft for the more westerly ones, it takes an extra little meander over the round rocky top to reach the true summit at 11,860ft. There you'll be rewarded with stellar views of the adjacent namesake peaks of Birch Mtn, The Thumb and the Palisades. As for the descent, it is absolutely epic in good snow, and still enjoyable with hard surface conditions as it often develops between storms. With a nearly 40 degree entry into most of the gullies that gradually mellows out to a somewhat sustained 30 degrees for most of the roughly 2 mile and continuous 4000ft descent, you get to reap the rewards of almost every step you took to get up the hill. For me, there's nothing more appealing than the large slopping sidewalls that line the big wide gullies. Like having endless right and left point breaks that you can alternate between from turn to turn. The total length and elevation make it enough of a mission that you both need to be in shape, and will feel like you accomplished something, but still only takes about 4-6hrs round trip. Be sure to keep a cold one waiting for you back at the car, and consider stopping in Carroll's Market as you get back to Big Pine for some surprisingly affordable steaks to cook up at camp before hitting the hotspring fed pools at Keough's.