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Tuolumne
Meadows Winter Conditions Updates
by Bruce & Tracey, 2005-06 Winter Rangers April 20, 2006 April 20, 2006 SKI CONDITIONS: Last week we predicted corn snow conditions for this week, but it was more of a wish than reality. The foot of new snow on Sunday the 16th is now several inches of mush, crust or frozen solid (depending on time of day). On Wednesday the 19th we skied south facing slopes to 12,000’
and while the traveling up was fast, sinking in only a few inches, the surface snow was not corned yet. We did find some soft corn (mush) snow conditions below 9000’. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. WILDLIFE: Finally a few more Juncos and Brewer’s Blackbirds, also first sightings of a Pygmy Nuthatch (taking a small bath in a tiny stream), William’s Sapsucker, Red-Tailed Hawk, many Cassin’s Finches and several flocks of Violet Green Swallows including a flock near the summit of White Mountain picking up bugs near the snow surface. At Parson’s Lodge we saw several Cassin’s Finches picking up small stones for their craw from the stone and mortar wall which is exposed on the building’s south side. There is little if any bare ground elsewhere in the area. Our most unique sighting came not from the spring arrivals but from a year round local, a Coyote. The Coyote had left behind the claws and tail of a Crayfish it had somehow gotten a hold of. There were also Pine Marten tracks in the area but no clues as to how or where the Crayfish was caught. We did notice that even the claws and tail were gone by the next day. April 13, 2006 SKI CONDITIONS: The Sierra corn snow crop has germinated but has been covered by almost daily snow falls. North aspects are not as far along but on other aspects you can find coarse “snow cone” crystals under the new snow. Some areas should make a quick transition to corn while others still need to settle and may have some rotten periods after the water runs out of the surface layers and leaves a larger volume of non supportive air spaces. Also, watch creeks and river crossings below 9000’ for those possible rotten spots; it’s a long ways down to the water this spring. So no great corn yet but next weeks forecast looks promising for this springs corn crop to start growing. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. With a steady supply of new snow we have seen almost daily point release type slides, from rollies to cement pours, on all aspects. The big action though has started on the smooth granite areas as the warmer snow pack has allowed water to run through the snow more freely and we are seeing climax avalanches (to the bare rock) from a few square feet to several acres. This is just the beginning of many granite based avalanches to come as most areas have an unusually heavy load of snow for this late in the winter/spring. WILDLIFE: The stormy weather and deep snows have made us look very hard for spring arrivals. We saw Painted Lady Butterfly number 6 & 7 this week. That compared to an estimated 500 per minute passing through last April at about this time. We did see our first Red-winged Black Bird near Parson’s Lodge and a Spotted Towhee on a very small patch of ground/rock near Lembert Dome. March 30, 2006 SKI CONDITIONS: Winter and spring conditions have been bantering back and forth by the day, hour and minute. Fresh powder, sticky snow, crust, whatever; expect variable conditions as both sunshine and storms are on the menu for the coming week. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. As spring rolls around it is a good time to remember that ESAC is privately funded by donations and membership. If you want to see them around next winter, now would be a good time to show your support since they will soon be weighing their chances of survival after this fledgling year. It would be redundant to say it was another active avalanche week, but “it was another active avalanche week”, mostly involving new snow, both wind slab and loose wet slides on all aspects. We also saw a large cornice failure off the east side of Lembert Dome with several piano sized chunks of snow, some broken trees and smaller snow chunks blasted through the mature forest below. WILDLIFE: The weather did not provide many glimpses of spring but the wildlife did. The first bear tracks since last fall were seen in Tuolumne Meadows. We saw our first four Painted-lady butterflies last Saturday the 24th riding an east breeze on their westward migration. What seemed very unusual to us was spotting a Golden-mantled ground squirrel next to Elizabeth Lake. It even approached us as we ate our lunch as it probably would do to hikers lunching there in summertime. Not unusual behavior except that there is at least nine feet of snow there and we have never seen a ground squirrel in such wintery conditions. Unlike tree squirrels which are active all winter, or chipmunks which will occasionally come out in the winter, ground squirrels are good hibernators and generally go torpid until later in the spring. SKI CONDITIONS: Trail breaking is getting much easier as long as you’re not expecting fast, spring-like conditions. There are still some pockets of powder hidden from the sun but all other aspects are transitioning through a wet snow or crust stage depending on time of day. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. It has been another active week of fresh snow and avalanches. The last few days have seen the first warm weather in a few weeks and wet slide activity has started to appear. Mostly rollies and pinwheels but several loose wet slides have appeared on south aspects in the top layers of snow. Conditions will vary widely by aspect so if your going to be on or near something steep, take the time to profile a similar area and don’t ignore the obvious signs, like other recent avalanche activity. WILDLIFE: Or party life in the case of this week’s photo. If you’re a backcountry user you’ve probably run into balloon trash in some very remote areas any time of the year. It is by far the most common trash up here in the winter. One day we were skiing in upper Lyell canyon when a wild looking red animal came racing down the snow covered river. It was a shredded red balloon. WEATHER: (March 9 to March 16) SKI CONDITIONS: Almost Spring? Only if you look at the calendar. We had our coldest temperature of the winter last week and our deepest snow depth (95”
on the 15th). Also only one day was above freezing. How to best prepare for current spring conditions? Our advice is to make sure you have some sort of magic elixir to rub on your skis when the “terrible transition” occurs. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. The latest 1 ½ feet (Tuesday the 14th) of snow and SW winds have provided another round of avalanches and another layering of wind slabs. This last week we have watched the wind (generally from the SW) move the dry snow to the point where some areas are bulging with wind deposited snow. If you look closely at the accompanying photo you can see where a chunk of snow fell off the rock face starting a small slide which started a small slab (6” crown fracture) which in turn triggered a larger slab with a 1 foot plus crown fracture. This reflects the many instabilities we have noted in the top few feet of snow this last week. WILDLIFE: Daily snow falls make for fewer tracks. The light snow also leads to much more tunneling from animals like the weasel which occasionally pops up to the snow surface while otherwise scooting along just below the surface leaving a very interesting track in the snow. March 9, 2006 SKI CONDITIONS: Powder city, lots of snow and cold weather has made trail breaking epic until the last couple of days. We thought the Tuolumne ski hut was a long journey and it’s only a mile round trip for us. As of the 9th of March snow has settled enough to make trail breaking reasonable and it sounds like winter conditions will prevail with more cold weather through the coming week. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. WILDLIFE: We saw a Pine Marten looking very fluffy in the below zero morning temperatures as its fur was filled with insulating air. The same day we saw our first White-Breasted Nuthatch of the winter above Elizabeth Lake. Although the Red-Breasted Nuthatch can be commonly seen here all winter we generally do not see its larger white cousin until spring, which the calendar says is a few weeks away. SKI CONDITIONS: A very wet storm finished off with cold temperatures and cold snow leaving trail breaking relatively easy in several inches of powder on a firm base. Above tree line more snow fell leaving a mixed bag of hard and soft conditions due to periods of very strong SW to W winds. It sounds like a powdery storm on March 2 & 3 will bring deeper trail breaking. Last week the first trans-sierra ski party of the season passed through Toulumne meadows. They were from Mariposa, California and a veteran of previous trans-Sierra crossings, picking weather and avalanche conditions that favored their trip. By this time of year we start getting many inquires about trans-Sierra trips and welcome them all. These are a few of the commonly asked questions: Do I need to worry about avalanches if I stay on the Tioga road? Can I ski across Tenaya Lake? Is there room at the ski hut? AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. Wow, we spent March 1st up on Dog dome looking at all the avalanches that had come down in the last couple days. Most impressive were the jumble piles left by slab avalanches off north aspects. There were a surprising number of slab releases at or below tree line and numerous releases just below ridge lines. We heard several loud releases during this avalanche cycle. We were trying to decide if the tree line release with the twenty plus foot crown fracture (the top of the slide) in Budd creek was the one we heard from inside our cabin over two miles away. It ran only a few hundred feet downhill but is an excellent reminder of how deep some of these wind deposits can be. There were also several point release avalanches on March 1st from the lighter snow which was not well bonded to the denser snow from earlier in the same storm.
SKI CONDITIONS: This last week was a powdery one with conditions now warming back to a more Sierra norm. Above tree line winds have left a variety of conditions from hard wind pack to boot top powder. Below tree line conditions have been more consistent with a few inches of new snow on a firm base, generally good for touring. Skiers coming from Lee Vining have been walking a few miles to Warren Fork before the Tioga road is completely snow covered. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. WILDLIFE: While skiing by a large boulder area near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp we noticed bird tracks down in the wind hollow next to one of the boulders. Our eyes were able to follow the fresh tracks out of the hollow and through many willow branch tips to a well-camouflaged White-tailed Ptarmigan. We have mentioned these introduced (to the Sierra) birds before. WEATHER: (from Jan 19 to Feb 14) *Sorry, due to a three week power outage and park service computer server problems on a national level we have gone one month without an update. There may still be some server problems in the near future, but otherwise expect weekly updates. SKI CONDITIONS: The last few weeks have been dry with highs in the fifties and lows in the mid to low teens. This has set up the Sierra cement and the immediate forecast is for colder temperatures and possible snow by the President’s holiday weekend. So expect icy conditions until we receive new snow. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. WILDLIFE: Being off the (power) grid can be a blessing whether self imposed or due to downed power lines. The later was true for us these last few weeks. Our early morning snowshoe trips to the outhouse revealed the raucous sounds of many Clark’s Nut Crackers in their pre-nesting party state before they become much more secretive. Fortunately we had a very bright moon and were able to see past our candlelight to take in Tuolumne’s night life that our electrical lights and sounds so often drown out. Most memorable was the Pine Marten that first scratched at our porch window (possibly attracted by our coolers of food on the other side) and then proceeded to whirl around the house checking each window as we watched from within by taking a few steps and keeping our eyes a window ahead. It also helped to have snow up to the bottom of each window. WEATHER:
(from Jan 12 to Jan 19) SKI CONDITIONS: Snow storms have been dry and light recently with plenty of deep, but not particularly heavy, trail breaking. Wind slab or wind crust is prevalent above tree line. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. WILDLIFE: Tracking animals in the snow is always rewarding and there are always things to learn. If you read last weeks Owl & Weasel story you may remember the Owl walking in the snow. The turned out toes which are unique to Owls in general helped us make a positive ID (thanks to Olaus Murie & James Halfpenny track books). One of our favorites tracks are body prints which Squirrels, Pine Martens & Fischers leave in the snow when they leap out of a tree especially in the softer snow conditions of late. Whether for fun or distance it usually gives a very good impression of the animal’s size. QUESTIONS: If you have any ski related questions feel free to call (209) 372-0450 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. If we are out skiing, leave a message and a clear phone number so we can return your call. (Tracey & Bruce, Tuolumne Winter Rangers) January
12, 2005 SKI CONDITIONS: Trail breaking has been at boot top with ice under the trees and some crust on south exposures and variable wind pack above tree line. As we write this late Wednesday the 11th we have received a mix of snow/rain to about 9,500’ so we expect crust conditions with the possibility of some colder snow coming this weekend. AVALANCHE/SNOW CONDITIONS: For the latest avalanche advisory go to www.esavalanche.org the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. If you would like to help support ESAC or have the advisory e-mailed to you become a member. WILDLIFE: The moonlight tends to extend the activity of twilight and nocturnal hunters particularly during the short colder days of the year. QUESTIONS: If you have any ski related questions feel free to call (209) 372-0450 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. If we are out skiing, leave a message and a clear phone number so we can return your call. (Tracey & Bruce, Tuolumne Winter Rangers)
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