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New snow means new dangers |
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Tuesday, 30 December 2008 |
 Bishop resident Nel Hesht takes a friend’s dog for a walk near Starlight enjoying the new snow from the last storm. The snow looks pretty in the lowlands, but there is high avalanche danger at upper elevations. Photo by Mike Bodine By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
12-27-2008 The snow has arrived, giving locals a white Christmas in their front yards and excellent skiing potential in the backyard.
On Friday morning, Mammoth Mountain reported 13 inches of new snow, along with the 61 total inches reported from the storm that started Monday and continued through Christmas Day.
This brings the mountain’s base-depth to between 64 and 100 inches.
Snowfall totals for the ski area began on Oct. 14 with one inch, to 44 inches on Dec. 14 and 97.5 inches with the latest storm, for a total snowfall accumulation of 145 inches.
However, with this dump of powder comes high avalanche danger.
The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center has forecast high avalanche danger from Sonora Pass to areas south of Big Pine.
The avalanche forecast calls for continued “high” danger through today.
As stated in the forecast from www.esavalanche.org, “Natural avalanches are expected and human triggered slides likely. Fresh wind drifts at all elevations could produce avalanches.”
The avalanche forecast was based on measurements and studies prior to the Christmas storm. Forecasters dug several pits to determine snow stability and found that pre-existing snow pack was quite unstable.
“Up around 10,500 (feet elevation) we found a snow pack that consisted of 18-20 inches of thick slab sitting atop perhaps a foot of faceted (or angular) grains that poured out from underneath the slab,” the forecast states. The forecast continues that at lower elevations a slab was found sitting on three inches of faceted grains that were then on top of a more consolidated, but thin layer against the ground, “(creating) perfect ball bearing conditions.”
Based on the data collected by forecasters, “it seemed to us that north facing higher elevation conditions were only worsening in terms of stability ... while south and west facing areas, that had no or little existing snow pack were setting up nicely and were relatively safe for skiing.”
The basic advice from the avalanche center is if people want to ski or snowboard in the backcountry right now, they should try and find places where there was no old snow, and still be very cautious.
It also recommends winter adventure seekers steer clear of open bowls, such as those found along the Mammoth Crest and Sherwin Ridge.
The weather forecast is for warmer temperatures for next week. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association, or NOAA is predicting mild weather through the end of the year.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 January 2009 )
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