Pyramid Peak in the Crystal Range (southwest of Mt. Tallac) |
We're coming
around the final turn in our biggest storm of the early season, and
it was a great one with lots of high-moisture snow at higher
elevations. Yes, that means the wet, heavy stuff, which is exactly
what the resorts want in the early season. Why? Because it puts down
a base that provides solid cover for slope debris and irregularities.
And when we get the inevitable string of hot-sun, postcard days, the
higher moisture content means the snow won't easily evaporate away.
(Scientists call that sublimation.)
Because this storm
had relatively high snow levels, long-term locals were especially
pleased. At our house, we had major periods of thick, heavy, slushy
flakes, melting as they fell out of the sky. (We call these things
slush storms.) As of this writing, it looks like the mountains have
gotten two to three feet, while our walk and drive have stayed mostly
clear. Perfect.
Early Sunday
morning, the snow level is supposed to rise to 9000 feet - ouch -
then drop back down to 6500. Perfecter.
It's no small
thing that in a storm like this, most of the roads also stay clear,
easy for the plow crews, and easy for us and tourists alike to get
around town. But just “up there,” not far above the tops of the
trees, those flakes stay snow. After the 2010-2011 season when we got
something like 700 inches (55 feet) on the West Shore, we don't mind
snow that stays "up there."
Echo Summit Highway (lower center) with Steven's Peak left rear and Roundtop Mountain, far right rear |
In another three
or four weeks, most people will want three feet of fluffy white stuff
at lake level for that holiday feel. We will, too. But that can
happen in three weeks. Perfecter and perfecter.
Glad you wrote about the snow up there. We're living in the heavy rains in Marin:)
ReplyDeleteI hope you're not in a flood zone! Our creeks up here are overflowing, so I imagine that those in Marin are, too. Things cleared for a bit this afternoon, and the mountains were spectacularly white. Sun tomorrow, so things will dry a bit before - yikes - more precipitation mid-week!
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