Descent portion of winter ski...

Descent portion of winter ski tour to the west of Round Top. From the lowpoint at the Winnemucca Lake drainage (9000'), the route climbs steadily first to the northwest, staying south of a prominent rock band. Veer southeast, following the obvious northwest shoulder of Round Top. Here the slope tops out around 30 degrees. Be careful; a fall in many places during fast snow conditions could end up quite badly. Eventually you top out on the col between Round Top and The Sisters. The west ridge of Round Top is skiiable from the 10,150' level or so, with the slope never exceeding 35 degrees. On the descent, I recommend dropping into the inviting and amazingly open north bowl of The Sisters. You'll find 200-500' descents of anywhere between 15 and 45 degrees. All of them spit you out at the bottom of the NW shoulder of Round Top. Nearly any fall here runs out harmlessly into the bottom of the bowl. To return to Carson Summit, go the way you came, down mellow terrain which never exceeds 20 degrees. Another possibility (red arrows on the map) is to ski down toward Caples Lake. This tour is roughly twice as long, but more monotonous in elevation gain. In general, you should avoid the north bowls of Round Top, unless you are comfortable on highly avalanche-prone, 45°+ slopes with run-outs of varying danger.