Eastern Sierra in Winter

[dhiren]

Hello

 

Is it worth going to Eastern Sierra for Snow Photography, if Yes

could someone tell me which parts. All I know is Bishop, June Lake

[Loop] & Mono Lake.

 

Anyone done any shooting in Eastern Sierra in winter [snow] ?

 

Thanks in advance

[mark_chappell]

Depends (a lot) how how much walking you want to do, but I'd definitely proceed on 395 up

Conway grade from Mono Lake towards Bridgeport and points north. Lee Vining canyon and

Lundy Canyon can be very pretty.

[dave wyman]

Dhiren,

 

Forget it, it's cold and windy and snowy on the east side of the Sierra in winter, the sun rises after breakfast and sets before dinner, the June Lake Loop is closed. Move along, nothing to photograph there. ;-)

 

I'd keep away from the colorful cross-country skiers on the south side of Mammoth Mountain, the arch with a view of Mount Whitney just west of the town of Lone Pine, Crystal Bay at Lake Tahoe, frozen beaver ponds south of Bridgeport, ice falls in Lee Vining Canyon, bare aspen groves all along Highway 395 north of the community of Lee Vining, cinder cones beneath towering, snow clad peaks from the town of Big Pine to the town of Independence, the ghost town of Bodie, Manzanar, the concentration camp where Japanese-Americans were held (against the law, but hey, it was wartime and the President felt free to violate Consitutional guarantees at will back then, but it would never happen today, right?)...<div></div>

[jay_pal1]

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest is worth a trip in winter. You can stay at the Grandview campground, which is a few miles from where the road is closed. From the road closure, it is about a 1 hour walk to the Schulman Grove.

For more info, try

http://www.sonic.net/bristlecone/WhiteMts.html

[craig_gillette]

Yawn, if you can get past the appropriated guilt, Manzanar was a product mostly of war hysteria fueled by security concerns and racism (the US interned Germans and Italians and eastern Europeans as well), under a staunchly liberal Democrat President. (Not uncommon for the time, most of the combatant and many non-combatant or neutral nations interned nationals and citizens from other countries.) and rather irrelevant to the idea of winter photography.

 

As noted, there are tons of opportunities for seasonal shooting in the area. What you do need is flexibility in planning as road clearances may depend on how recently it's snowed, not all the roads will be available. It can be very cold, especially in the Lee Vining, Mono Lake area. Bishop is lower in elevation and central to the Owens Valley as well as the mountains to the north. Take chains and know how to install them. The passes over the Sierra are closed between Tehachapi and Walker Pass in the south and Lake Tahoe in the north.

[jd_rose]

It is bitterly cold.

 

But Bishop and Carson City sport gorgeous vertical walls and amazing blue skys. The east side is the dry side, catch the snow early just after the storm. It will sublimate fast.

 

--- JDR