Clovis man’s record time on ‘classic’ Sierra ski route reveals summer hiking hazards | Opinion

Marek Warszawski
·4 min read
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What happens when you combine an epic winter, a classic Sierra Nevada ski tour and one fit, determined individual?

The result is a new speed record (fastest known time) on the 43-mile Sierra High Route crossing of Sequoia National Park by Clovis resident Ryan Soares: 17 hours and 18 minutes.

Hiking and skiing alone while never stopping to rest, Soares departed the Shepherd Pass trailhead above Owens Valley late in the evening of May 24 and arrived at the Wolverton Snowplay Area the following afternoon.

Pioneered in the 1930s and guided since the 1970s, the Sierra High Route is a true wilderness ski tour linking several passes and long traverses around snow-filled bowls. Most parties spend a week in the backcountry, packing tents, sleeping bags and cooking equipment.

Soares, to keep things as light as possible, carried only 20 pounds of the barest of essentials (food, water, extra layers and a bivy sack) in a daypack.

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“From a ski standpoint, it’s the most classic crossing of the Sierra because you get to stay at high elevation the whole way,” Soares said. “Once you get above 10,000 feet you never have to descend back down. You’re at 11,000 or 12,000 the entire time.”

Conditions vary from year to year. When Soares skied the route last spring, one of the driest on record, there were so many bare sections he was constantly forced to stop and remove his skis.

This year, following California’s heaviest winter in four decades, there was so much snow that once Soares put on his skis at Anvil Camp after hiking the first 8 miles in boots, he kept them on the entire way. Except while putting on and removing climbing skins for ascending low-incline slopes or crampons to surmount a couple steep passes.

“I’ve been skiing in the Sierra for over 20 years and I’ve never seen so many slides, avalanche debris fields and bergschrunds,” Soares said. “Every aspect nearly had something on it.”

The morning shadow of Clovis ski mountaineer Ryan Soares points toward thumb-like Milestone Mountain in Sequoia National Park, the midway point of the Sierra High Route ski tour. Soares claimed the route’s Fastest Known Time of 18 hours, 17 minutes on May 25, 2023.
The morning shadow of Clovis ski mountaineer Ryan Soares points toward thumb-like Milestone Mountain in Sequoia National Park, the midway point of the Sierra High Route ski tour. Soares claimed the route’s Fastest Known Time of 18 hours, 17 minutes on May 25, 2023.

Normally associated with glaciers, bergschrunds are large cracks or crevasses that separate moving ice from static snow and ice. Soares encountered one chasm that he estimated was 10 feet across and 15 feet deep, and wisely skied around.

Something one might expect to see in Alaska, but not typically Central California.

Crossing the John Muir Trail

Besides the start and endpoints, the Sierra High Route does not follow maintained trails used by hikers and backpackers. (The cross-country trek bisects the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail south of Forester Pass at Diamond Mesa, a high-elevation plateau with eye-popping views.)

Nevertheless, Soares’ rapid ski trek across the heart of the High Sierra granted him a firsthand look at what conditions will be like this summer.

“If you’re a casual backpacker, this isn’t the year to hit it early,” said Soares, a leadership consultant and Fresno State adjunct professor who directs the campus ropes course.

“June is going to be all snow on the passes, and July is going to have a lot of snow. So our backpacking season at upper elevations is really going to be August and September.”

Ryan Soares poses for a selfie during his record May 25, 2023 solo unsupported ski across the Sequoia National Park. The Clovis resident completed the 43-mile Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time of 17 hours, 18 minutes.
Ryan Soares poses for a selfie during his record May 25, 2023 solo unsupported ski across the Sequoia National Park. The Clovis resident completed the 43-mile Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time of 17 hours, 18 minutes.

The biggest hazard for summer trekkers isn’t actually snow, which can be safely navigated, but rapid snow melt in the form of dangerous water crossings.

Soares nearly learned that lesson himself. After he and a friend spent 3½ hours lifting and rolling boulders and logs to build a somewhat safe route across a raging creek one mile from the trailhead, Soares returned to see much of their work washed away.

“The creek drops significantly in that area, so a fall would’ve been dire,” said Soares, who teaches backpacking, rock climbing and wilderness survival to college undergraduates.

“Creek crossings are going to be the crux for a lot of people this year. People underestimate the strength of moving water and are going to get in trouble.”

Making matters worse, two bridges on the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail in Kings Canyon National Park (a steel bridge crossing the San Joaquin River upstream of Florence Lake and a suspension bridge spanning Woods Creek) have been deemed impassable after being found mangled and splintered.

The Sierra High Route from Shepherd Pass to Wolverton across Sequoia National Park is considered the most classic Sierra Nevada ski tour. Clovis resident Ryan Soares took this photo during his Fastest Known Time of the 47-mile route in May 2023.
The Sierra High Route from Shepherd Pass to Wolverton across Sequoia National Park is considered the most classic Sierra Nevada ski tour. Clovis resident Ryan Soares took this photo during his Fastest Known Time of the 47-mile route in May 2023.

“There’s probably a lot of small, hand-built bridges that aren’t going to be there any more, and people are going to have to figure it out,” Soares said.

After completing the Sierra High Route six times previously, the 46-year-old said he targeted the fastest time as a way to push his physical and mental limits. He trained all winter doing “10,000- and 12,000-foot (elevation) days” in the Kaiser Wilderness above Huntington Lake.

Soares did not intend to ski the route solo but couldn’t find anyone to accompany him. (“When you’re trying to do something like this, the community isn’t all that large,” he said.) To help placate his anxious wife, he carried a personal locator device that transmits updates every 10 minutes.

“Somebody younger and with (all-terrain) gear is going to come along and beat (the record),” said Soares, who uses a heavier telemark setup. “For me, it was just something to see what I could do and see what I was capable of.”

With Milestone Mountain behind him, Ryan Soares poses for a selfie during his record May 25, 2023 solo unsupported ski across the Sequoia National Park. The Clovis resident completed the 43-mile Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time of 17 hours, 18 minutes.
With Milestone Mountain behind him, Ryan Soares poses for a selfie during his record May 25, 2023 solo unsupported ski across the Sequoia National Park. The Clovis resident completed the 43-mile Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time of 17 hours, 18 minutes.
Clovis resident Ryan Soares encountered incredibly deep snow, significant avalanche debris and these suncups during his Fastest Known Time of the 47-mile Sierra High Route telemark ski across Sequoia National Park in May 2023.
Clovis resident Ryan Soares encountered incredibly deep snow, significant avalanche debris and these suncups during his Fastest Known Time of the 47-mile Sierra High Route telemark ski across Sequoia National Park in May 2023.
Clovis ski mountaineer Ryan Soares encountered this dangerous overhanging cornice on his way up to Copper Mine Pass while completing the Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time. Fortunately, a section of the cornice had fallen away allowing Soares to climb over it with crampons.
Clovis ski mountaineer Ryan Soares encountered this dangerous overhanging cornice on his way up to Copper Mine Pass while completing the Sierra High Route in the Fastest Known Time. Fortunately, a section of the cornice had fallen away allowing Soares to climb over it with crampons.