Topic

How to Monitor the Sierra Snow Pack ?


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion How to Monitor the Sierra Snow Pack ?

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1298911
    Art …
    BPL Member

    @asandh

    What are the best ways / places to monitor the Sierra snow pack to aid in trip planning for next summer ?

    #1951363
    Rick Dreher
    BPL Member

    @halfturbo

    Locale: Northernish California

    Hi Art,

    Here's a good resource for the entire state.

    http://cdec4gov.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snowsurvey_sno/PAGE6

    I'd also watch forums, such as High Sierra Topix, for recent trip reports.

    Cheers,

    Rick

    #1951365
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington
    #1951371
    Kevin Buggie
    BPL Member

    @kbug

    Locale: NW New Mexico

    The NRCS monitors snowpack using snotel sites across the country. If the snotel site shows snow remaining, you're likely to run into it; they're pretty accurate. Here's the link for all the California sites:

    http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/California/california.html

    #1951410
    Tommy Franzen
    Spectator

    @tomlike

    Locale: Pacific Wonderland

    The Mammoth Mountain Snowfall history can also be useful, especially for comparing different years (they have as much snow now as they did at the end of April last year)

    Mammoth

    #1951422
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Of course the snowpack varies from place to place and from day to day. If you are looking for a quick answer, I would say that the snowpack is only about two-thirds of an average year. If this continues for another two months, then the summer trails will be usable a couple of weeks earlier than normal. The desert trails may become unbearably hot and dry a couple of weeks earlier than normal.

    –B.G.–

    #1952698
    Paul McLaughlin
    BPL Member

    @paul-1

    Here's the page I have bookmarked:

    http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/

    in the top box on the right titled "SNOW SENSOR INFORMATION" you have access to remote snow sensors giving you real-time snowpack info for a variety of locations in the Sierra. Be aware that these primarily read in inches of water content, not snow depth. But in the late spring when it matters, snow depth is usually fairly close to double the water content number. It takes some time to figure out which sensors are closest to where you are planning to go, but once you have that dialed it is a great resource. I have used this info for years in planning my spring backcountry ski trips.

    If you tell me where you are planning to go I can tell you which sensors are closest to your route.

    #1952820
    Art …
    BPL Member

    @asandh

    Paul I'd like to monitor all the passes of the JMT route.

    thanks

    #1952876
    Brian Lewis
    Member

    @brianle

    Locale: Pacific NW

    postholer.com has 'snow conditions' and 'snow depth' links for the PCT, which mostly overlaps the JMT in the 200 mile stretch.

    #1953777
    Paul McLaughlin
    BPL Member

    @paul-1

    Art – These are the sensors closest to the JMT (from N-S)

    Agnew Pass (AGP) near 1000 Island Lake
    Volcanic Knob (VLC) – Bear Ridge
    Bishop Pass (BSH)
    Crabtree Meadow (CBT)

    There are also a number of manual entry stations on or near the JMT. These get measured at the end of each month (roughly). Most of the remote sensors are also measured manually once a month. So if you check the page I gave you about the first of the month or so, look at "Snow Course Information" and "Monthly Snow Course Meassurements' – "latest" and you can see the most detailed info.

    Manual only stations:

    Devil's Postpile (DPO)
    Mammoth Pass (MAM)
    Rose Marie (RMR) – Rose Marie meadow, near Marie Lake
    Heart Lake (HRT)
    Colby Meadow (CBM)
    Bench Lake (BNH)
    Charlotte Lake (CRL)
    Junction Meadow (JNM)
    Vidette Meadow (VDM)
    Upper Tyndall Creek (UTY)
    Bighorn Plateau (BGH)

    #1953871
    Art …
    BPL Member

    @asandh

    thanks everyone, these links should be helpful.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...