If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
balzaccom wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:47 pm
This from the Tuolumne Meadow Winter rangers. Note the last sentence
Ski Conditions and Weather
It was warm and dry in the Yosemite high country this week. The sound of wind has been replaced by the sound of running water. The Tuolumne River is opening up fast and snow depths are shrinking. Although our snow stake still shows 33 inches at our weather plot, more bare ground is appearing daily. South aspects below 9,000 feet are now mostly snow free.
Yep, you nailed it. Definitely that last sentence is a more accurate way to describe conditions than the "33 inches" part. I mean look at this pic! There's no snow on Lembert Dome! Hiking season on south aspects is ON!
You want a cookie or something?
NoSnow!.png (717.79 KiB) Viewed 195 times
"Adventure is just bad planning." - Roald Amundsen
Also, I have a blog no one reads. Please do not click here.
From Heavenly atop Tamarack Express sixpack lift Thursday 4/1/21. Probably was my last day of resort skiing this season with 25 days of which 21 were from after the big storm end of January. (mouse select to enlarge)
Skepticism is one thing but the rudeness in some of these posts is unnecessary. Thanks Balzaccom for sharing the info that you've found and to everyone else sharing their experiences.
It’s complicated stuff. I did hetch hetchy a few weeks ago and if you look you’re like ok north facing snow, south facing dry. But once you’re above 6000 ft it’s all micro climates. I ended up hiking through solid feet of snow in south facing areas at that elevation. At other times you could be somewhat higher and snow free just depending on surrounding geography, path of the sun, etc. Not Tahoe obviously but just a reminder that snow accumulates and melts in complex and dynamic manner.
not to mention that the seemingly snow-free face of Lembert dome is not a particularly good measure of backcountry conditions. personally, I avoid hiking or camping on vertical rock faces.
dougieb wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:09 am
Skepticism is one thing but the rudeness in some of these posts is unnecessary.
Yeah. Saw a hilariously wrong post about conditions in the wrong forum, by an old time member and got a little too high on my high horse I suppose.
It is true, this snow year has had it's challenges for those of us who enjoy snow recreation. This spring has been hot, and it hasn't really snowed much since mid-March. In the Southeastern parts of the range, hiking season hasn't really ended. But my wife was skiing the south face of Mt Reba this past weekend at ~8000'. Good snow, good coverage.
And balzaccom just keeps posting, trying to be right. I suppose at some point in the spring/summer he will be.
"Adventure is just bad planning." - Roald Amundsen
Also, I have a blog no one reads. Please do not click here.
I was up at my daughter's house in Soda Springs (just west of Donner Pass) at nearly 7,000 feet. There was 2-4 feet of snow, of course, some localized spots higher. We hid the kids Easter eggs in snowbanks! Serene Lake is still frozen with about 1-2 feet of snow covering it. She said that once she dropped down to Truckee, the snow was really going fast. And May and even June snow showers above 8000 feet are not unusual. I think it is pretty hard to tell what the snowpack is at higher altitudes because there is not much data for it. The CDEC measuring stations are relatively low and designed to give a good estimation of the amount of water that is stored in the snowpack, not necessarily to inform backpackers.
One way I keep an eye on snowpack, is to read the PCT journals once they start going through the Sierra. Another way is to look at Mammoth Lake ski area web cams.
dougieb wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:09 am
Skepticism is one thing but the rudeness in some of these posts is unnecessary.
Yeah. Saw a hilariously wrong post about conditions in the wrong forum, by an old time member and got a little too high on my high horse I suppose.
It is true, this snow year has had it's challenges for those of us who enjoy snow recreation. This spring has been hot, and it hasn't really snowed much since mid-March. In the Southeastern parts of the range, hiking season hasn't really ended. But my wife was skiing the south face of Mt Reba this past weekend at ~8000'. Good snow, good coverage.
And balzaccom just keeps posting, trying to be right. I suppose at some point in the spring/summer he will be.
Wow. I wasn't posting any of this "trying to be right." I shared some information a USFS ranger gave me, and when others questioned it, I tried to present the context of his comment...
I thought I was doing it the the spirit of collaboration and recognizing that the situation is dynamic and varies from place to place. And when I saw a second report, this time from the NPS rangers in stationed Tuolumne Meadows, I added that data point to the discussion, including both the "south facing aspects are snow free at 9,000 feet," and also the 33 inches of snow depth at the weather station.
My only thought in posting all of this was to draw attention to the fact that this is a very strange year, and will involve some extra thought in terms of planning, dates, and routes--and may offer some earlier opportunities in certain areas. That, and the info makes comparisons with others years pretty interesting, too.
Thanks balzaccom for your informative and insightful posts. I highly value them. As for a particular disrespectful poster on this thread, there is no need for that here as it runs counter to what HST stands for.
