09 Mar 2025 - Conditions Report: Rock Creek Rd Winter Hiking & Snowshoeing

Wondering how much snow can be found in the backcountry with how warm the weather has been? We got some beta for you.

Here's what co-owner, Sabine, and a friend found on their jaunt out during a recent day off back on Sunday:

Conditions Report:

Current As Of: 09 March 2025*

Activity During Report: Winter hiking in snow with using boots and snowshoes

Conditions: Today, a friend and I took advantage of the calm before this weekend's projected storm and went up Rock Creek Road. We drove up the road to the gate near the East Fork campground and the road was down to pavement and bone-dry the entire way. The parallel parking was plentiful at the gate closure, even with the Sunday crowds, and there was turnaround plowed so you could face back downhill.

Snow conditions past the gate varied between 4-12" in depth. This mainly came from a couple small snowfalls in the first week of March and was largely still powdery in nature. Per the below photos, the only areas of compacted snow were from previous traffic which speaks to the fact that conditions were essentially melted down to pavement beyond the gate closure prior to the snow last week. Walking in boots and snowshoes respectively, we both sunk down and compacted the snow to about an 1-2" layer above the pavement. We found both methods of travel reasonable and enjoyable so it's best to pick your preference.

We walked up the road ~3 miles up to the Rock Creek Lodge and then back over the course of a couple hours.

We did see some evidence of avy testing likely done by the local forecasters at Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) which showed that the snowpack has some layers currently present that definitely have the risk of sliding.

While there is far lesser risk of avalanches by staying on the road, the upcoming storms this week and any off-road/backcountry travel will expose yourself to greater risk. Be sure to consult daily ESAC forecasts and/or consider taking an avalanche course with our affiliated guide service, Sierra Mountain Center, California’s most established avalanche safety educator.

Recommendations: Snowshoes or skis are probably helpful, especially after the 1st mile, but if your hard-pressed on doing it in boots, you could make it work. If you're curious about XC skiing, the conditions were awesome for it!

(If you need or want to rent and try snowshoes or XC skis for your trip, we got those! All rental reservations starting before 15 April get 15% off one full-price item when you pick up your gear!)

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View of the road up Rock Creek Rd halfway between the gate closure and Rock Creek Lake.

 

A little further up the road just before Rock Creek Lake looking at the north side of the road at a south facing slope.

Another look at the north side of the road just before Rock Creek Lodge. It is a south facing slope.

Crown of a mini avalanche triggered for a test likely done by the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center for their forecast. This was just off the north side of the road on the south facing slope.

*All conditions reports are subject to change, increasingly so with each passing day since the observation(s) were made. They are provided as a tool to assist your adventuring, not to replace your own risk management and decision-making. No information in any trip or conditions report published by Eastside Sports should be considered definitive in its information or directive in its recommendation.