Month: January 2014

Pouring rain in Squaw Valley 1.29.14.

1.30.14.

Heavy rain soaked Squaw Valley today as a long awaited winter storm entered the region.  We are dealing with a very weak snowpack which may benefit from being saturated before temperatures drop and the snowfall begins.  Wet snow should help cake over rocks and other low tide hazards.  The Sierra Avalanche Center expects conditions to get dangerous as storm slabs load on top of the persistent weak layer.  Time will tell whether the PWL will break down or remain a threat as our ski season finally gets under way here in February.  Thankfully we are getting precipitation that we desperately need and this storm is expected to finish cold and dry which may actually offer up some nice skiing.  Imagine that!?!

Sierra Avalanche Center Forecast for January 29, 2014

NOAA forecast for Olympic Valley on January 29, 2014

January bliss on the East Shore.

If winter gives you summer, you may as well do summer stuff.

South facing hikes have been nice.

White Wolf not looking very white.

Noah Gaffney jumps for joy on the East Shore.

The Staches for Snow movement continues with no KT opening in sight.

While Tahoe is suffering from the winter that wasn’t, some locals have been fortunate enough to visit places with copious amounts of snow and splendid ski conditions.  Mike Walker enjoyed lapping untracked pow at Grand Targhee last week.  Factory Bike owner Matt Duniho ventured into stunning terrain in the Selkirk Range of Canada.

Grand Targhee, Wyoming.

The Grand Teton as seen from Targhee.

Jeremy Benson starts a pillow fight in the Selkirks.

Touring in the Selkirks.

The warmest summer I ever spent was a winter in Squaw Valley. It hasn’t snowed in five weeks and it’s not going to for at least another two.   Meteorologists are in agreement there is nothing but high pressure in our medium range future.  After the driest calendar year in the history of California, we are officially in a drought state. The rest of the country is feasting on powder.  The mass exodus has begun and road trippers are reporting back with huge smiles and a gluttony of Facebook posts from Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest.  Some locals trying to keep a sense of humor about the current situation have started a movement called “Staches for Snow” and are growing mustaches until KT opens.   Hopefully that will happen prior to 2015.  A sacrificial bonfire to the snow gods is planned for January 25 at an underground location on the Truckee River.