That said, crowded trailheads are a choice, not a requirement. I can ski untracked Wasatch powder anytime. Just takes a little more work and a willingness to explore.

Sam, I live in Tahoe and ski here alot too. Yes, the popular trailheads are crowded, but go a bit further out and the trailheads are deserted. In South Lake Tahoe last week, I drove over Luther Pass (trailhead to Waterhouse peak) at 7am last week and there were already 20 cars parked. We drove 20 minutes futher out before getting out of the car, and didn’t see anybody all day, although we crossed a few tracks. Yes, the skinning/turning ratio wasn’t as good as Waterhouse, and it wasn’t all wind protected tree skiing, but it was worth the extra effort to be alone.

That is within 45 minutes of South Lake Tahoe. If you are willing to drive 1 hour 45 mintues, the eastern Sierra start at Bridgeport and extend for 200? miles to the south. Stay away from Mammoth and Bishop, and you probably won’t see another car at the trailhead. Choose the longer approach or different drainage, and you can get 5-7000 foot one lap days and not see anyone.

Yes the recent popularity of human powered glisse can crowd the most popular trailheads, but I am not complaining.

human-powered skiing has exploded here. I started 3 years ago, and I can see that last year and this year have considerably more people than before. There’s regularly trouble finding parking at trailheads. I think this is mostly great. I haven’t seen to much of an increase in trash… It seems a lot of the people exploring the backcountry are either the same kind of people who climb in summer, or people ducking the ropes for a thrill. And honestly, I haven’t had too much trouble with the latter category…

We all like some degree of solitude in our backcountry or outdoor adventures, but I think it comes to just how much is needed. I, for example, don’t like climbing trad in The Valley, because invariably, there will be a slow 3 person party ahead of me, and some anxious experts breathing up my drawers from below. Yet up in Touloumne, We’ll see climbers. We’ll talk to other parties on the approaches (and as long as I don’t climb routes in the supertopo book), we diverge at the base, and don’t see anyone else until half-way down the descent. Sure, if you look about, the faces are speckled with climbers, but there’s no one above or below me, and that’s enough for me.

I take this to skiing. That’s exactly how much space I need. Not to have anyone but my partner breathing down my (admittedly slow) neck, and not to have to wait in line to drop in. I understand that some people want the whole mountain to themselves, but tough cookie… I do worry that eventually, I’ll be eating that hard biscuit as well, I guess I’ll just have to tour out further then.