California Mountain Report » Conditions

Fresh Snow to Ring in the New Year!

Webmaster — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:07:14 +0000

Happy New Year everyone. My apologies for not firing up the blog sooner, but this is still a hobby blog for me and work comes first.

Was just doing a little poke checking and conditions are nice. Decent coverage with some fresh snow to ring in the new year. Its a warm storm but those are good too as they add good water content to be used later on in the year.

Kirkwood is reporting about 6inches in the last 24 hours as well as a few inches at Sierra. On the other side of the lake Squaw and Alpine meadows are reporting about 4 inches and sugar bowl around a foot. Mammoth is reporting 7 inches.

Happy New Year!

Get Ready for Epic Weekend Conditions

Webmaster — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:50:49 +0000

It’s been snowing all week… areas of Lake Tahoe have reported as much as 8 feet of snow in the last 7 days. And just in time for the weekend… sunshine! Mostly sunny skies are expected over the Sierra Nevada this weekend.

Pack up the gear and head to mountains for waist deep POW. Conditions like this won’t last long. And if you miss it.. you might be waiting till next season.

Statewide Dump Alert

Webmaster — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:24:42 +0000

Excellent conditions statewide. There is still more snow in the forecast today and tomorrow. Then a break for a couple days before the next major system sets. The next storm due in later this week will be a slightly warmer storm which will be great so we have some snow with more water content. A rundown of current mountain conditions follows…

Alpine Meadows: 15″ – 20″ in the last 24hrs
Boreal Ridge: 13″ -20″ in the last 24hrs
Sugar Bowl: 11″-16″ in the last 24hrs
Northstar-at-Tahoe: 5″-8″ in the last 24 hrs
Squaw Valley: 6″-8″ overnight
Sierra-at-Tahoe: 10″ in the last 12 hrs
Kirkwood: 24″-28″ in the last 24hrs
Heavenly: 2″ in the last 12hrs
Bear Valley: 19″ in the last 12hrs
Mammoth: 27″ in the last 24hrs
Big Bear / Snow Summit: 18″ in the last 24 hrs
Mountain High: 16″-18″ in the last 24hrs

Drive safe, carry chains and be sure to check for highway closures via Cal-Trans.

Lots of Snow in the California Forecast

Webmaster — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:08:14 +0000

Looking at the weather this weekend… I wish I was living in California right now because the conditions should be nothing short of awesome.

It is currently snowing with accumulations of 6-12 inches above 7000′ It is expected to be a bit windy.. about 10-20 miles an hour… upto to 65 mph gusts over the ridges. Later on tonight… cold and more snow. Temps expected to drop to 2 below and 2 to 6 inches of some very dry, very fluffy powder!

There is a winter storm advisory until 6pm this evening.

Conditions for the next few days are all about the same… snow, but not quite as cold overnight. Looking out even further, Weather.com has snow in the forecast through next Saturday.

Snow in the Forcast

Webmaster — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:27:16 +0000

At last some snow in the forecast! Snow level is supposed to start at 8000′ feet and gradually lower down to about 6500′. This upper elevation system is not going to drop a ton but its snow none-the-less.

What’s great about upper elevation systems like this is we get wet packy snow way up high. That wet snow is packed with water content which we need in the spring and summer to go whitewater rafting.

So when it comes to having enough water in our rivers is due to wet snow. I know, I love the deep fluffy powder from a cold storm but I also like to have my cake and eat it too!

Epic Conditions… 2-4 More Feet

Webmaster — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:13:08 +0000

This is the storm we’ve all been waiting for! In the last 24hrs, reports of up to 48″ of the fresh & fluffy white stuff. A few days ago weather forecasts were only predicting several inches a day… man were they wrong.

The bottom line is this… it doesn’t make a difference where you ski or ride today… it’s EPIC pretty much everywhere.

Kirkwood by far has the deepest snow on this registering 36″ – 48″ with a storm total to date of 54 – 58 inches… NICE!

Storm totals elsewhere are registering in the 30 – 40 inch range.. nothing to complain about that’s for certain.

Snow Reports (last 24hrs)

Alpine Meadows: 27″
Sierra At Tahoe: 14″
Northstar at Tahoe: 16″
Boreal: 14″-18″
Sugar Bowl: 19″-28″
Squaw Valley: 8?
Heavenly: 18″ – 22″
Kirkwood: 36″-48″
Mammoth: 21″
Bear Valley: 28″
Snow Summit / Big Bear: 24″
Mountain High: 18″ – 21″
Mt Baldy: 24″ -36″
Sierra Summit: 28″ – 32″
Alta Sierra: 30″ – 40″

Temperatures are cold & crisp so roads are icy.. drive with caution and remember SUV’s don’t make you invincible on the road.

Dump Alert – December 15, 2008

Webmaster — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:45:35 +0000

The following Mountain Resorts are boast 14″ or more…

Sugar Bowl: 12″-14″
Boreal Ridge: 14″ – 20″
Mammoth Mountain: 20″
Sierra-at-Tahoe: 14″
Kirkwood: 14″-18″

Travel safe: Slow down on slippery roads, carry chains and while on the mountain.. early season harzards exist so beware of hidden obstacles like rocks & logs.

** Photo courtesy of Kirkwood.com

December 13 Snow Report

Webmaster — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:31:31 +0000

So far the first leg of this storm has dropped nearly a foot in some places and up to 4 inches in others. Don’t despair this next storm set due to hit later today is expected to pack a little more punch.

Resort Stats:

Alpine Meadows: 9″
Sierra At Tahoe: 6″
Northstar at Tahoe: 4″
Boreal: 2″
Sugar Bowl: 2-4″
Squaw Valley: 2″
Heavenly: Trace
Kirkwood: 6″-8″
Mammoth: 4″
Snow Summit: 2″ natural & snow making is on 24/7

Please remember to drive safe, carry chains and while on the mountain be sure to keep a keen eye for hidden obstacles.

Old Man Winter Has Returned

Webmaster — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:36:37 +0000

It’s starting to look a lot like winter now that this long awaited winter storm has finally started to add a light blanket of white across the Sierra Nevada. Although not expected to be a huge storm, weather forecasts are predicting a few inches each day from today through Tuesday (Dec 16).

I would expect with this being a fairly cold storm that snowmaking would be taking place 24/7 for resorts, but this is not confirmed at this time.

Scanning through ski resort snow reports… a few inches have fallen so far with some reporting up to 4 inches at the higher elevations. If you’re on the mountain this weekend be extra aware of hidden obstacles like rocks and logs.

Last Chance for Rafting the Tuolumne & Cherry Creek

Webmaster — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:22:51 +0000

The Tuolumne River and Cherry Creek rafting runs have about a week left to their season. The final day for whitewater rafting flows on these two incredible runs is Monday, September 1 (Labor Day).

If you feel yourself getting a little green with envy as you think of everyone else hiking up Clavey Falls and swimming away the afternoon, rafting the Tuolumne’s class IV rapids, or jumping in for swim practice before an epic day on Cherry Creek, there is an antidote to your pain.

The Tuolumne River is by far my favorite river in California. The sheer beauty of the land scape and magnitude of the rapids.. just stunning. There’s no question why the Tuolumne is a California classic.

Happy Rafting