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Please support the Center. Your donations are important to keeping this program going and bringing you more resources in the future.
Please support the Center. Your donations are important to keeping this program going and bringing you more resources in the future.
Success at Solana Beach!
We just finished our first of 4-in-a-row free Avalanche Awareness events at A16 events. The raffle's grand prize was a chance to try an avalanche airbag. Click on the picture to see the results!
Click here for more upcoming events, and don't forget about our upcoming fundraiser. |
3-11-14 Cooling temperatures today with partially cloudy skies and strong to gusty winds. Winds will build this evening into tomorrow for a fairly strong wind event Wednesday. Temperatures will be cooler and skies will be mostly clear. Thursday winds will taper off and temperatures will begin to rise again going into the weekend. Mostly clear skies for this period and much warmer temps. for the weekend.
For more details check each areas forecast and weather stations for most current information.
Please visit the reports page as we have posted several reports from various areas. Also a brief text report for San G (3-2-14) stated 6"-10" below 8000' on south slopes, with much more up higher. Similar conditions to everywhere else, Poor visibility and wet with heavy snow softening much in the afternoon.
With the warm nature of the recent storm set we received low amounts of snow below 8500'/ 2590m. There is very little reported information from any areas but observations from yesterday showed heavy winds scouring on the southerly slopes and signs of rapid warming from Saturday with significant roller ball activity. Northerly aspects had some wind pillowing and loading but the nature of the snow we were able to asses was fairly heavy and increasingly wet through the day. Though a limited area around Mt. Baldy and extremely poor visibility we found that all around was fairly stable although becoming mashed potatoes due to warming on all aspects. With the rapidly increasing temperatures forecasted we can expect much of the southerly snow to melt out quickly and expect high chance for wet slides on all aspects in the afternoons.We can only speculate at this time that there has been some significant accumulation above 8500'/ 2590m but we have no confirmation of this. Recent reports show from 4"/ 10.16cm to 10"/ 25.4cm below 8000'/ 2440m depending on mountain range. At the highest peaks we may have a layer from the Wednesday night storm that has been built upon during the last storm that is still producing today. Temperatures were very warm for the onset of this second storm but it would still be prudent to mindful of a potential interface instability at these upper elevations. The Sierra's are receiving more snowfall as well which will have a significant effect on the conditions there. Please visit: Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center for more info if your planning a trip that way. Special Announcement 2-27-14
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HERSHON LAW
Events
So Cal Snow Free Avalanche awareness Presentations:
Just added February 26th @ 7:00PM Claremont Colleges Future dates and events TBA soon including our Beacons then Beer programs at Mt. Baldy and Mt. High and more. visit the events page for updates and details |
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Awareness
There are avalanches in So Cal. This sign is on the road just before Mt. Baldy trailhead
Slide path in the San Gabriel mountains
Please contribute your observations from the backcountry by posting a quick note in the discussion forum or submitting an observation or trip report in the reports section.
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Pre Season UpdateWe would like to thank everyone that was a part of So Cal Snow last season by visiting the website, posting reports and joining in our events. You all helped to make our first season a great success.
Fall is here with a light dusting of snow and So Cal Snow Avalanche Center is busy preparing for the upcoming season. We have several free avalanche awareness programs being scheduled starting early winter and continuing into the season. We also have a great fundraising event planned for the beginning of the year. All the dates will be up soon and details will follow. The schedule for the local and nearby avalanche Level 1 and Level 2 classes are also now available on the site. Find them in the left side bar or on our calendar page and events page very soon. We have been working hard during the off season to bring many things to you and improvements that will be launched throughout the season. We expect to start posting information and bulletins in November or December; as soon as we have enough snow for reports. The center is a non-profit incorporation, and as such we rely on your donations to make everything possible. We are filing our 501(c)3 application and should have tax-exempt status soon. We can issue tax receipts for your donations now so contributions will be deductible. Please visit our sponsors page for more information and details on our levels of sponsorship. If you work at an organization that offers "funds matching" or know of a corporation that would be supportive of the center, we have some great programs for our corporate sponsors. You can donate by check made payable to: So Cal Snow Avalanche Center mailed to P.O. Box 10282 Canoga Park, Ca. 91309 or by pay pal, credit or debit card by clicking the donate button located at the top of this page. The personnel that run this center are all volunteers and your donations go 100% into the center. If you find this center helpful please help us out, every little bit helps however small or great. Thanks for all your postings, visits and support. All of you make the center possible. Thanks to each and every one of you. Avalanche Beacon Park: The biggest thing we are trying to help bring to life for this season is an avalanche beacon training park for the local area. This will be instrumental for the public along with ski patrol and search and rescue to practice and hone their avalanche rescue skills. We are very close, but still need to raise the remaining funds to make this happen. Please contribute through the center and if you would like your donation to go directly to the beacon park mark it as such and we will direct those funds there. Let It Snow !!!! |
Avalanche Airbag RecallBCA (Back Country Access) has issued a recall on their BCA Float models 18, 22, 30, 32, 36 and throttle manufactured between August 2011 through October 2013. For More details go to: cpsc.gov
There was a fatality on East Vail today. What is interesting is that a fatality occured on the same slope in 2008. Here are the picutures of the two events. Lighting does strike twice with Avalanches.
East Vail 2008
East Vail 2014
Alaska just got LOTS of rain. Here's what happens when rain falls in the middle of winter.
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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.
