 Nate Greenburg, Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center vice-president, studies snow crystal formations to help forecast avalanche conditions. Greenburg is also co-author of a soon-to-be-released guide of 166 ski/snowboard descents from Tioga Pass to Bishop Creek. Photo courtesy of ESAC By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
12-11-2008 The avalanche reports and forecasts of the local mountains that inform winter backcountry users whether it’s safe enough to play out on snowy slopes is provided by a unique partnership between federal agencies and a not-for-profit organization.
For the last four years, the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) has raised money to pay the salary for a Forest Service avalanche forecaster. The Forest Service employee then posts the advisories three times a week on the ESAC Web site that is available to anyone with Internet access. The Web site, www.esavalanche.org, was visited nearly 30,000 times last year.
The Web site offers “one-click access to weather data, snow pits, remote instrument data, snow conditions and avalanche observations in watersheds from June Lake to Bishop Creek.”
ESAC’s Director Allan Pietrasanta explained that during these increasingly difficult financial times, partnerships between public organizations and the Forest Service are not all that unique, but definitely needed.
“The fiscal reality is that the Forest Service cannot fund a forecaster without the help of the public,” Pietrasanta said.
Money is raised through fundraisers such as the upcoming 2008-09 Season Kickoff, scheduled for this weekend. This year’s festivities include a slide show Saturday night by snowboard-mountaineer Stephen Koch, the first person to ride his snowboard down the seven highest peaks on the planet. In the afternoon before the slide show, ESAC will be offering a free – yes, free – backcountry skills seminar at Mammoth Mountain’s Main Lodge.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, along with Mammoth Mountaineering Supply, Inyo and Mono counties, the Sunset Foundation and the Little-Kittenger Foundation, donate generously to ESAC, with other money coming from the 230 ESAC members.
“Ninety-five percent of the money we raise goes to fund the (avalanche forecaster) position, which we are very proud of,” Pietrasanta explained. “It’s a very pure thing, the public benefits, the Forest Service benefits – it works out well for everyone involved.”
Pietrasanta explained that ESAC acts as the vehicle by which the public can donate, and then through an agreement with the Forest Service, the money pays the salary of the Forest Service’s avalanche forecaster, Sue Burak.
Burak uses current weather conditions, sensors and frequently digs holes to study crystalline snow structure to come up with the forecast.
Burak takes surveys in Bishop Creek, Mono Lakes Basin, Little Lakes Valley out of Rock Creek canyon and as far north as Tioga Pass. She starts her forecasting in the winter, obviously, but as the weather warms up in the spring and the snow turns into “world class” corn snow, she tries to work her way south along the Sierra as backcountry recreation activity in these areas increase.
Pietrasanta pointed to the increasing amount of literature and guidebooks on backcountry winter ski routes in the Sierra as proof of the growing interest and popularity of playing in the local mountains. He said that a new guide is set for release soon, co-authored by Mammoth locals Dan Mongori and ESAC leader Nate Greenburg, “Backcountry Skiing California’s Eastern Sierra; 166 Ski and Snowboard Descents in the Range of Light between Tioga Pass and Bishop Creek.”
There is also a vast amount of literature and periodicals on the subject of avalanches, science and safety. These range from The Avalanche Review, put out by the American Avalanche Association, to reference books small enough to be tucked into a backpack or jacket pocket.
The study of avalanches is a complex amalgamation of disciplines that include hydrology, climatology and snow crystal morphology. Even though the study of avalanches may be complex, Pietrasanta explained that the more people know and educate themselves about avalanches, the safer they will be.
According to the U.S. Forest Service’s National Avalanche Center, there were 36 avalanche-related fatalities in the U.S. in the 2007-08 season. These deaths claimed skiers, snow boarders, snowshoers and snow mobile riders alike.
Pietrasanta explained that local mountain guide services provide classes and programs on avalanche safety and the Mono County Search and Rescue holds its annual “Avvy Savvy” class in January to raise avalanche awareness for backcountry users.
There are four basic factors outdoors enthusiasts should use when determining avalanche conditions: weather, snow pack, recent avalanche activity, and the human factor. Pietrasanta explained the human factor as the dynamics of interpretation of objective dangers and subsequent decision making, such as which route to choose up or down a mountain or slope.
The “human factor,” and people’s safety, are at the heart of ESAC. Pietrasanta said the idea for ESAC and the avalanche updates and forecasts stemmed from a small group of “serious backcountry guys” who thought this information should be available to the public.
He said the Sierra Nevada is the last mountain range in the U.S. to have avalanche forecasts available to the public. Many other states, such as Utah and Montana, have state-funded programs, but avalanche forecasting in these areas is often directly related to road conditions, while in California the forecasts are mainly for recreational uses. Commercial ski areas usually have their own avalanche experts on staff.
ESAC also does some public outreach, such as Burak’s “Nerd Night” where serious users can talk about crystal structure and orographic lifting, or up-slope flow where weather and wind are forced up a mountain slope that can produce massive amounts of snow fall.
While it is called a center, ESAC has no physical building, primarily just the Web site. For more information about ESAC or to obtain tickets for ESAC’s 2008-09 Season Kickoff, visit www.esavalanche.org.
(Register staff writer Kellie Caparula contributed to this article. –Ed.)
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