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So Cal Mountain closures
Angeles National Forest - Forest closure and map link - Plan your trips accordingly. San Bernardino National Forest has closures - Forest closure link and map link - Plan your trips accordingly Mount San Jacinto - The tram remains temporarily closed due to Covid 19 |
Fire Side Chat #1
A Free virtual education event Backcountry Touring Basics Wednesday January 20 @ 6:00pm For Zoom link and more info go to our Events and Education page Sponsored by 
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General Mountain Weather Forecast |
1-15-20 The warmest day this week today as temperatures bump up a bit more. Skies will be sunny with moderate to strong Northeast to Northwest winds. Gusts in The San Gabriel mountains to 40 mph are possible and up to 30 mph in the ther two ranges. The Red Flag Warming will remain in effect until 4:00pm today. Gradual cooling will begin Saturday with temperatures remaining well above seasonal averages. Cooling will continue through the weekend with significant cooling expected for Monday into Tuesday as some low pressure systems effect the area. There will be another round of strong winds with increased clouds. The chance of precipitation is very low so there is only a chance of a dusting of snow at this time for Monday evening into Tuesday. Wednesday temperatures will return to near seasonal averages under mostly clear skies for the remainder of the week.
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.
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.
Snowpack Summary December 28, 2020
Posted by Allen Giernet @ 8:55 am
This summary applies to backcountry areas only.
Weekly and post storm Summaries will begin once we have enough snow.
The Bottom Line -
We have received a shot of winter with reports of 14”/ 35.6cm to 24”/ 61cm +. Our current conditions are early season low tide. For the most part this is new snow on bare ground so early season hazards exist with a high potential for damage to gear and personal injury. With 12”/ 30cm or more of snow in a 24 hour period the potential for avalanches is high. Remember if there’s enough snow to ride there’s enough snow to slide. Combines with shallowly buried to exposed obstacles injury potential is high.
Forecast for today is moderate to strong and gusty Northerly winds. Southerly aspects will get loaded with wind transported snow increasing the potential for avalanches on the slopes. During the storm we had moderate to strong Southerly winds that will have loaded Northerly aspects. Be aware in gullies and below ridgelines of wind drifted snow as this will have a greater potential for sliding.
Lastly consider the cold temperatures forecast and the low snow line. Roads will potentially be icy and slick if not closed. Travel with chains or fourwheel drive, many areas will require 4X to carry chains (and know how to use them). Check for road closures and area closures before heading to the mountains and if you are not prepared for winter mountain travel please stay home. And practice CDC Covid 19 guidelines, trailheads are likely going to be busy please try to avoid large groups and crowds. Exercise avalanche safety any time you head into winter mountains.
Posted by Allen Giernet @ 8:55 am
This summary applies to backcountry areas only.
Weekly and post storm Summaries will begin once we have enough snow.
The Bottom Line -
We have received a shot of winter with reports of 14”/ 35.6cm to 24”/ 61cm +. Our current conditions are early season low tide. For the most part this is new snow on bare ground so early season hazards exist with a high potential for damage to gear and personal injury. With 12”/ 30cm or more of snow in a 24 hour period the potential for avalanches is high. Remember if there’s enough snow to ride there’s enough snow to slide. Combines with shallowly buried to exposed obstacles injury potential is high.
Forecast for today is moderate to strong and gusty Northerly winds. Southerly aspects will get loaded with wind transported snow increasing the potential for avalanches on the slopes. During the storm we had moderate to strong Southerly winds that will have loaded Northerly aspects. Be aware in gullies and below ridgelines of wind drifted snow as this will have a greater potential for sliding.
Lastly consider the cold temperatures forecast and the low snow line. Roads will potentially be icy and slick if not closed. Travel with chains or fourwheel drive, many areas will require 4X to carry chains (and know how to use them). Check for road closures and area closures before heading to the mountains and if you are not prepared for winter mountain travel please stay home. And practice CDC Covid 19 guidelines, trailheads are likely going to be busy please try to avoid large groups and crowds. Exercise avalanche safety any time you head into winter mountains.
General Summary
Special Announcement – At this time we strongly suggest you follow all local and state guidelines regarding safety precautions in relation to COVID-19. Respect and obey all closures. For more information on closures check the links at the top of this page. Always practice general avalanche safety protocols when entering into winter mountain terrain. Carry a Beacon, shovel and probe and travel with a partner. And know how to use this equipment !
Special Announcement – At this time we strongly suggest you follow all local and state guidelines regarding safety precautions in relation to COVID-19. Respect and obey all closures. For more information on closures check the links at the top of this page. Always practice general avalanche safety protocols when entering into winter mountain terrain. Carry a Beacon, shovel and probe and travel with a partner. And know how to use this equipment !
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 6k' gate area Date (yyyymmdd) - 20210101 Comment - Drive up from Big Tujunga Canyon 9:15am Patchy ice on road in sheltered spots on the 2 but mostly dry and clear. Sky clear Wind northerly and moderate with periods of light winds No precip N aspects @ 6,300’ have soft snow. Some wind buff on surface North gullies in treed terrain sheltered and consolidated powder NE aspect wind scoured and very sculpted where snow remains. NW 300° aspect wind slab aprox 3cm thick HS 30cm Just upslope from the Jeep trail (PCT) a quick pole/ hand pit showed 75cm with 20cm windslab appeared to be poorly bonded to recent snow. Angle 33°. Returned to this spot in the afternoon to confirm original assessment with a full pit. Found cohesion to be much better than originally suspected 2- Column tests produced no results CTN. Pit profile included with this observation. The profile is not encouraging if we were expected a significant storm soon. But clear forecasts and warm temps will continue consolidation and snow loss. |
Observation type
Snowpack Location - Baldy Bowl Date (yyyymmdd) - 20201230 Comment - We took our rocks skis for a walk up to Baldy Bowl with low expectations. Snow depth was 45 cm at 6800 ft and 44 cm at ~8800 ft. On sun exposed aspects a 1 cm crust formed over soft wet snow. At higher elevations, the snow was packed for visible wind loading on SW aspects in the Bowl, but soft at the base to hit obstacles in low tide conditions. No visible windslabs in the bowl itself. |
Observation type
Snowpack Location - Crystal Lake area (Pinyon Ridge) Date (yyyymmdd) - 20201229 Comment - 1:00pm at the parking area. At 5,500' there was 12" to 14" of storm snow on the ground. Ski penetration was 6" with easy skinning from this point. Air temp was 47F and all the trees still had snow on the branches. Some snowmelt from branches falling on the snow make some areas of the trail saturated or punchy. No signs of avalanche or sluffing in the area. Above 6000', snowpack held well during uphill. No cracks or slides during jump compression or ski cutting. Dug a snow pit on a 32 degree slope, NW facing aspect. Area had been cross loading all day with consistent 8 mph NE winds. Very easy digging, no crusts or ice encountered. Started with an extended column test which failed the first time as I was sawing out the back. Second test I was more delicate with the isolation but still failed after 4 taps from the wrist. Both shears were very energetic and propagated across the entire column. Shear interface was excellent quality. No facets observed. Firm wind slab resting on top of weaker unconsolidated storm layer. Once the wind slab was removed, the rest of the column tipped over at ground. On the downhill, had some very nice turns. Snowpack was very shallow and soft. Took some caution to keep the turns easy so as not to hit ground. With the next few days of warming/cooling cycles, this first layer should set up a nice stable base for future storms. Be safe. |
Observation type - Snowpack
Location - Wrightwood Date (yyyymmdd) - 20201229 Comment - Repeat of tour from 12/28 afternoon. Skin track from previous day was all but buried, and breaking trail required significantly more effort. Quick pit at same spot as 12/28 revealed another 15-20cm of new light, dry snow had fallen since the previous afternoon for a total depth of 45-50cm. Several very small natural slides were observed on ~40 degree NE aspects where wind deposits were prevalent. Time will tell how everything bonds as daytime temps warm to above freezing in the coming days. |
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.
