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A Huge Thank you to Everyone That Participated
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Fire Side Chat #10
A Free virtual education event "Open Forum" Bring your questions to the SCSAC Staff This will be the final evening of our fundraiser Thank you to everyone that joined us last night and help to push our total funds raised up !!!! |
Snowpack Summary March 28, 2021
Posted by Allen Giernet @ 4:54 am (this summary expires in 48 hours)
This summary applies to backcountry areas only.
The Bottom Line –
Warmer overnight lows and warming day time highs will move Loose Wet Avalanche concerns to the top of our list. On mainly Southerly aspects beginning from East through all Southerly aspects to West Loose Wet avalanches will become more likely as the day warms and with each warming day into the week. Look for the signs of loose wet instability, Firm morning snow softening to boot top depth, Roller balls and pinwheels emanating from rock outcroppings and features, rapidly increasing temperatures. These are all signs of snow becoming unstable. There will bet a possibility of Loose Wet instabilities on Northern aspects especially at lower elevations though not likely.
Isolated Wind Slab avalanches may still be possible at higher elevations (Above 8,000'/ 2,438m on Northerly aspects. We noticed yesterday near 7,500'/ that recent storm snow had wind drifted into locations and was not bonding to the refrozen surface. Though not likely nor big enough to bury you these can easily knock you off your feet and potentially carry you through thin covered rough terrain. Look for signs of wind drifted snow, sculpting, scouring, pillowed snow.
Fast firm conditions will still be possible in the mornings and at higher elevations with slide for life scenarios possible to likely. Be prepared with ice axe and crampons and the proper skills to perform self arrest. As the day warms these conditions will abate except on northern aspects at higher elevations especially in sheltered locations that receive little to no sun exposure. Always use your best judgement based upon the area you are in and the conditions you see.
Exposed or shallowly buried obstacles at lower elevations and on Southerly aspects are a concern and could increase the consequences of any slip and fall incident.
Posted by Allen Giernet @ 4:54 am (this summary expires in 48 hours)
This summary applies to backcountry areas only.
The Bottom Line –
Warmer overnight lows and warming day time highs will move Loose Wet Avalanche concerns to the top of our list. On mainly Southerly aspects beginning from East through all Southerly aspects to West Loose Wet avalanches will become more likely as the day warms and with each warming day into the week. Look for the signs of loose wet instability, Firm morning snow softening to boot top depth, Roller balls and pinwheels emanating from rock outcroppings and features, rapidly increasing temperatures. These are all signs of snow becoming unstable. There will bet a possibility of Loose Wet instabilities on Northern aspects especially at lower elevations though not likely.
Isolated Wind Slab avalanches may still be possible at higher elevations (Above 8,000'/ 2,438m on Northerly aspects. We noticed yesterday near 7,500'/ that recent storm snow had wind drifted into locations and was not bonding to the refrozen surface. Though not likely nor big enough to bury you these can easily knock you off your feet and potentially carry you through thin covered rough terrain. Look for signs of wind drifted snow, sculpting, scouring, pillowed snow.
Fast firm conditions will still be possible in the mornings and at higher elevations with slide for life scenarios possible to likely. Be prepared with ice axe and crampons and the proper skills to perform self arrest. As the day warms these conditions will abate except on northern aspects at higher elevations especially in sheltered locations that receive little to no sun exposure. Always use your best judgement based upon the area you are in and the conditions you see.
Exposed or shallowly buried obstacles at lower elevations and on Southerly aspects are a concern and could increase the consequences of any slip and fall incident.
#1 - Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
#2 - Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
General Summary
Exercise caution on slopes over 30° as these conditions will exist throughout all mountain ranges. Always exercise caution when entering into winter mountain areas. Bring a Beacon Shovel and Probe and know how to use them. Travel with a partner and make conservative decisions. Thin coverage will still exist with obstacles above or near the surface that can easily ruin your season. Exercise good judgement and caution during these low snowpack conditions.
Important Note
Practice CDC Covid 19 guidelines, trailheads are going to be busy please try to avoid large groups and crowds. Exercise avalanche safety any time you head into winter mountains.
Exercise caution on slopes over 30° as these conditions will exist throughout all mountain ranges. Always exercise caution when entering into winter mountain areas. Bring a Beacon Shovel and Probe and know how to use them. Travel with a partner and make conservative decisions. Thin coverage will still exist with obstacles above or near the surface that can easily ruin your season. Exercise good judgement and caution during these low snowpack conditions.
Important Note
Practice CDC Covid 19 guidelines, trailheads are going to be busy please try to avoid large groups and crowds. Exercise avalanche safety any time you head into winter mountains.
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General Mountain Weather Forecast |
4-3-21 Warmer today with clear skies and light to moderate Westerly winds. ••• Thew previous forecast discussion ••• Warm again Saturday while temperatures remain above seasonal averages. Skies will be mostly clear to sunny with light to moderate and generally Westerly winds. Sunday will see some minor relief in the climbing temperatures. For early next week a low pressure trough moving through to the North will bring cooler temperatures through mid week. Some clouds will develop for early in the week with generally Westerly winds. Cooler into the latter half of next week.
We will be offline until April 12 as we are in the field with no service for training - The SCSAC Staff
Hint: for historical weather forecast data use our facebook page as all posts are there on a running timeline.
For more details check each areas forecast and weather stations for most current information.
We will be offline until April 12 as we are in the field with no service for training - The SCSAC Staff
Hint: for historical weather forecast data use our facebook page as all posts are there on a running timeline.
For more details check each areas forecast and weather stations for most current information.
To better understand the challenges and potential variability over the large area we are producing information for please read our Snowpack Summary - Format and Limitations
Disclaimer:
This Bulletin is designed to generally describe conditions where local variations always occur. Travelers are advised to exercise caution and make slope specific evaluations. As always, please treat this bulletin with appropriately guarded skepticism and make your own assessments. Help to provide more information to the community by reporting your observations
This Bulletin is designed to generally describe conditions where local variations always occur. Travelers are advised to exercise caution and make slope specific evaluations. As always, please treat this bulletin with appropriately guarded skepticism and make your own assessments. Help to provide more information to the community by reporting your observations
Click on the links below for the latest information
Latest Observtions
Click on the observation to go to the full report
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Observation type - Snowpack
Location - Angeles Crest Date (yyyymmdd) - 20210319 Comment - Angeles Crest - Winston Springs 6,400’ 11:30 AT 11C Road dry & clear Sky was clear but developing scattered clouds Wind was calm but turning to L & NE Late start today due to snow summary and Avi center items. As expected very heavy wet snow. Mash potatoes. A day of adventure riding indeed ! Big Note. - Cel service at the base and top of Winston springs. Ridge top 1314 SW - S winds M few clouds. View all the way to the Catalina islands. |
Observation type
Snowpack Location - Waterman Ridge Date (yyyymmdd) - 20210317 Comment - Skied the arete/couloir system off Waterman ridge which dumps down to ACH just before the long Z before Cloudburst Summit. Pleasantly surprised to find enough coverage for reasonable skiing on this NE-facing feature. Snow depth varied between 1 and 2 feet, mostly mashed potatoes but quite stable on slopes up to 40 degrees. Corn just beginning to develop since last week's storm. Temps in 50s, wind light. Rollerballs did not propagate, nor did ski cuts. 34.349252, -117.941400 Drove up to Buckhorn. North face of Waterman has adequate coverage, with ski tracks at various places, but drove back to this arete, which I've always wanted to ski. Was not disappointed. Higher San Gabes appears to have good snow--this arete was about as low as you could go. |
Observation type
Snowpack Location - Angeles Crest Date (yyyymmdd) - 20210316 Comment - Reported @ 8am trees covered with snow and AT 21F By 10 see noted. 9:50am Roller balls from road cut 6700’ NNE aspect road still mostly ice below. AT below or near freezing. Intense solar input. 10:25 6772’ AT 1C Trees mostly bare down low. By 7,000’ some snow and falling from trees due to warming and sun NW slope near 6900’ wind drift at trail cut 30cm. Soft slab in hand pit looked like surface hoar at bottom easily broken loose. No obvious signs of instability. 1:30 NE slopes had significant warming and moisture in the area we were. Snow was becoming sticky and heavy. NW & N aspects were still maintaining soft snow. On the drive out both NE & NW aspects should numerous roller balls and pinwheels. At lower elevation cloud cover had moved in from the S and solar input effects on the snow was stoped. Air temps were not much above freezing but had risen significantly since early morning. |
Observation type
Snowpack Location - San Gorgonio wilderness Date (yyyymmdd) - 20210316 Comment - Toured up into the San Gorgonio Wilderness to get a feel for the snow after the recent storms. I didn't encounter many signs of instability, other than observing some wind shaped snow in the gullies above 9000 from the recent wind events. Dug in at 9200 feet in a treed area on Charlton's NE aspect. Found a 40 inch snowpack with 26 inches of light, new snow sitting on top of a 4 inch weak faceted layer. I performed a stability test and found no reaction, but definitely a concerning weak layer and something to be aware of when making terrain choices. Coverage was receding quickly below 8200 with grabby and bare conditions on the lower portions of my trip back to the trailhead. . |
General Caution
You should always use safe terrain management and carry avalanche rescue equipment in the backcountry. Most avalanches are triggered by someone in the party or the victim. Practice with your rescue gear often and be prepared should the worst happen. Though we do not have an avalanche forecast center in this area as of yet, the information posted and shared here as well as the resources available on this site will help to make informed decisions for your backcountry travels. Use avalanche forecasts in your travels wherever available and be aware that avalanche ratings are general information. Elevation, location, geographic variability’s, slope aspect and angle all have effects on the particular area you travel in. This is only one piece of the information you should use in your decision making process. There is no substitute for avalanche education, for more resources and information as well as education please refer to our resources page.
You should always use safe terrain management and carry avalanche rescue equipment in the backcountry. Most avalanches are triggered by someone in the party or the victim. Practice with your rescue gear often and be prepared should the worst happen. Though we do not have an avalanche forecast center in this area as of yet, the information posted and shared here as well as the resources available on this site will help to make informed decisions for your backcountry travels. Use avalanche forecasts in your travels wherever available and be aware that avalanche ratings are general information. Elevation, location, geographic variability’s, slope aspect and angle all have effects on the particular area you travel in. This is only one piece of the information you should use in your decision making process. There is no substitute for avalanche education, for more resources and information as well as education please refer to our resources page.
