November issue on stands now."I SHALL NEVER FORGET THE 26TH OF MAY, 1827," wrote legendary fur trapper Jed Smith, having lost eight horses, a mule, and his pistol to a late-season storm on what would later become Sonora Pass.

The next day dawned "clear upon the gleaming peaks": just another bluebird powder day in the High Sierra. If only he'd brought his fat skis.

My note on Sonora, plus five other "Roads to Take You There," and even a quick word on our local custom ski crafter Michael Lish, in the November Travel Issue of Backcountry Magazine, on stands now.