0430 temp. at 6350′ in Carnelian Bay: 20.5 deg.

No new snow

0530 temp. at 8650′ Tamarack TH: 22 deg.

Backcountry Obs.

The stellar powder from yesterday has changed and is no more. NW winds have groomed out the mountains, covering up yesterday’s ski tracks and most hints of the skin track. The snow is still plenty cold and soft and skiing great, albeit a little slower.

Wind is nature’s groomer, distributing the snow in the hollows and thinner areas which is exactly what has happened. The Tamarack snow pack now feels like midwinter, rounded out over features with very few sharks lurking about. Ascending through the trees, the snow remains soft and inviting. Midway up the mountain, NW winds and their effects were obvious. Wind pillows, sastrugi and icy scoured surfaces greeted me in ridgy areas lower down than I typically expect. This continued all they way to the summit.

SE aspects–and anything lee of the recent and on-going winds–are loading with wind drifted snow. Plenty of slabs felt upside down, hollow and drum-like. Considering the recent avalanche activity yesterday, I stayed away from any suspect zones. The most popular ski zones in the area are either scoured or cross loaded this morning. Powder days are so fleeting.

Despite the change in conditions, the descent still skied great with few tracks and rounded out features to hop around and through. Oh, the joy of sliding down snow never fades.

Weather/Forecast Thoughts:

Skies at dawn were mostly cloudy with mid-upper level clouds announcing the arrival of this weekend’s storm. The forecast for 1-2′ up high, mainly above 7000-7500′. The warmth of this storm will make any snow that falls great from a base building and water resource perspective. Most of what we’ve received to date has been very low in SWE (snow water equivalent), so this could help our abysmal Sierra snow pack and water supply. Down around lake level, I’d be happy to see a few inches of slush and fear this might end up being more of a rain and slush event.

Sunday appears to be near average with clearing conditions as the storm kicks out to the east.

The upcoming week will likely feature above average temps. with a break in the storms as a ridge of high pressure builds and settles in. There is a chance of some rain/snow around the middle of the week, but the system doesn’t look significant, nor are the models in agreement. Like most of the winter, models are currently mixed looking about a week out. The GFS leans more on the high pressure/ridging side which would bring warm and dry weather, while the Euro shows a more transient ridge with a strong Pacific jet approaching the California coast from the SW around 1/22. That signal doesn’t appear terribly cold, either…

Models have been so inconsistent this season, that I wouldn’t put too much stock in any given outcome. I would however, anticipate things trending on the warmer side more times than not.

All the more reason to get out and enjoy the cold snow, whatever form it takes, while you can!