While the skiing has been good in and around Tahoe, the January thaw is usually a good time to get on down to the High Sierra and see what's happening. Yesterday I cruised down to Tioga Pass with my buddy Oscar to meet up with weatherman Joe and our friend Dave.  We had a really convenient camp spot, burned a little fire, crushed a few beers, and went to bed early in preparation for the all day slaughterfest we had in store for ourselves.  We woke up with the sunrise and got right on it.  Our goal was the Kidney Lake Chute, located on the far southern end of the Dana Plateau.  With the pass closed our only option was to start from the very bottom, right next to Lee Vining Creek on the Power Plant Rd.  That meant we only had 5,000 vertical feet to climb.  With the dawn came the sudden realization that the snowpack in that area is incredibly thin, especially down around 7,000 feet.  It looked good enough though, and with a little bushwhacking, rock walking, and some swearing we made our way up to the steeper, higher terrain that is holding snow quite well.  We skinned til it was too steep, then booted the rest of the way up the Coke Chute to get up on the Dana Plateau.  The wind has been blasting down there, east and north facing snow is really firm, which is why we opted for the due south facing chute.  After four and half hours of skining and booting we made it to the top of line and were delighted to find excellent coverage.  We took in the views, skied the crap out of it, and picked our way through the thin cover back to the car, and we found some sweet pow turns hidden in the trees on the way.  We had an awesome time, hope you enjoy the pics.