One of my favorite trips of the year is always the annual Echo Lakes Boat Taxi trip at the end of the season. The Echo Lakes area is located just west of Lake Tahoe off Echo Summit and provides year round fun of all types. In winter the lakes are frozen and provide good access to the surrounding peaks and powder. In spring and summer when the lakes thaw they run a boat taxi for $10 each way allowing you to shave off 5 miles round trip of walking to get into Desolation Wilderness for spring riding and backpacking. If you're in the area you should check it out for sure.

Here's some pics by Chris Gallardo and Davide De Masi

The gear

Don't fall into the holes opening up in the snow!

On top

David drops

Pond skim action

A recycled pond skim from last year

Back for another run

The pencil line

Ralston Lake

Back at the boat dock and the beer stash

Yum...ice cold IPAs

The locals

Rinse

Feeling the crunch of the economy we decided to save our $10 and walk back to the main dock, here's a wild flower along the way

Almost there

Another fun late season trip and there's a few more in the tank still. 

To see more pics from this trip or to learn more about splitboarding, visit splitboard.com