March 7, 2006

Sue Burak: ‘Nervous’

If you haven’t been following Avy forecaster Sue Burak’s updates on the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center website, now might be a good time to pay attention.

The Sierra has been getting incredible snowfall totals the past week or so (I believe Mammoth claims over a hundred inches in seven days). Unfortunately, this new snow sits on top of several problematic layers.

Check out the ESAC website for the complete discussion—especially if you’re planning on visiting avalanche country anytime soon.

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March 2, 2006

Avy Debris and More Snow Coming

Beware the ides of March…some reports on the ESAC website of massive avalanche debris fields visible from Highway 395.

I’ll try to get some pictures this weekend, though the weather (more snow) may not make that possible. In any case, the big concern in the Southern Sierra is a lot of new snow sitting on some weak/junky layers from February’s weird cold snap.

As for SoCal, it looks like temps will be cold enough to snow, but the storm doesn’t look potent enough to offer much help.

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January 19, 2006

Take an Online Tour in Avy Country

Here’s something fun I stumbled across: the National Avalanche Center’s Interactive Backcountry Tour. You are given a brief itinerary and sent off into the wild, where you will face a variety of choices in changing conditions.

The interactive-ski-tour idea isn’t quite as developed as it could be, but if you’re desk-bound, it’s still a good way to kill a few minutes. And hey, maybe you’ll even learn something.

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December 15, 2005

ESAC: The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that avalanche information is conspicuously absent on SierraDescents.com’s pages. This is certainly not because I don’t take avalanches seriously.

Avalanches worry me more than any other objective hazard in winter mountaineering. I’ve therefore been thinking very carefully about what I’d like to say about avalanches.

As a start, I’ve added an Avalanche Resources section to my links page. The first site I’m linking to is the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center. The ESAC’s mission is to “advise and educate the public on avalanche conditions in the backcountry of the Eastern Sierra.”

Currently, the ESAC is the only organization providing public avalanche forecasting for the Eastern Sierra (note: the Mammoth Mountain ski patrol post local snow pit info on the Mammoth website).

The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center is new, with a volunteer board of directors, and one full-time avalanche forecaster. They operate in conjunction with the US Forest Service, and they are funded (like PBS) via private donations and membership.

You can help fund the ESAC by purchasing hats and t-shirts from their website, or by becoming a member. They also welcome regional observations of conditions in the field.

Having current, professional avalanche information for our region is a rare and priceless resource. Take advantage of it—and if you can, offer your support.

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