From the papery appearance of the cap in the rear specimen, the coarsely "lumpy" (as opposed to finer & brain-like) nature of the lobes on the cap, and also the hint of a lacunose stipe, I think this is more likely G. californica, despite a strong resemblance to G. esculenta.
The snowbank false morel or bull-nose, G. gigas (aka korfii or montana) is a much more massive/fleshy species and is generally recognized as a desirable edible (I grew up eating the Michigan woods variety). However, many Gyromitra species (including the ill-named G. esculenta) contain widely varying amounts of monomethylhydrazine (MMH, aka rocket fuel) which is toxic. MMH is volatile and can be removed by heating and par-boiling, but it's a major red flag for anyone who wants a list of "no-brainer" wild mushrooms they can easily identify and safely eat.
I agree the false morels have very little resemblance to the true ones. You'd have to be very unobservant to mistake one for the other.