2018 Backcountry Conditions Reports

Questions and reports related to Sierra Nevada current and forecast conditions, as well as general precautions and safety information. Trail conditions, fire/smoke reports, mosquito reports, weather and snow conditions, stream crossing information, and more.
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Harlen
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Re: 2018 Backcountry Conditions Reports

Post by Harlen »

Just checked the Central Sierra Avalanche Advisory, and its paints a pretty rosy picture: Avalanche risk- "Low, Low, Low" on all aspects, and at all levels- including above treeline.

This is an excellent site to study before going in. Best of Luck!
Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.
User avatar
Harlen
Topix Addict
Posts: 2075
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 9:13 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains

Re: 2018 Backcountry Conditions Reports

Post by Harlen »

Less of a "rosy picture" now- in fact, it would be extremely difficult to get into the range! Below is from the weekly report by the winter rangers up in Tuolumne Meadows. The whole report includes stories and photos, and wildlife observations- it's a great window into the winter Sierra- you can access this site here: https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/tmconditions.htm To access the whole Report, click on the heading and date of any update.
Check out the low temps. for Feb. 5th?!
Rangers Rob and Laura Pilewski wrote on Feb. 6:
This week saw an impressive return to winter with a series of storms that dropped a whopping 97 inches of new snow with a 6.21 inches of snow water equivalency over a five day period. The finale to this event was 38 inches of new snow in a 24 hour period, and plummeting temperatures that hit a low of -20 degrees F last night! [Note- they refer to the week 1/30 - 2/5]

There is currently over 100 inches of snow blanketing this part of the Sierra Nevada with potentially more on the way this weekend. We will be digging out from this one for a while. As for the ever changing ski conditions, the trail breaking (is that actually skiing?) became a waist deep exercise in patience, planning, and teamwork. The low density “fluff” that fell this week resulted in sinking nearly to the bottom of the new snow when standing on skis…..and when that new snow is nearly 7 feet deep, well, you get the picture. We’re talking the ¼ mile an hour variety here folks. Needless to say that the Tuolumne Meadows rangers did not range far this week...
Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.
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