22 Blue - Looking ahead to the New (aka Fuck Summer (aka Tahoe Thread))

[powdork]

Very difficult trailbreaking today and back to wiggling on the down until things settle out…… the juice was not quite worth the squeeze

Over the years I've come to realize there are two things going on during these storms. there's risk/reward and there's work/reward. The problem is the risk and work involved (not even including the trailbreaking) both skyrocket whereas the reward just usually isn't there. It's too deep and/or windfucked to get on anything that gets you up to planing speed. And in the last 5 years or so the risk of 'you won't be able to make it back to your house' has infiltrated the equation, which really sucks.

[powdork]

Some points of interest.
Luther Pass has been closed an awful long time for Luther Pass. I know the whole Big Meadow area drops to zero vis regularly during these storms but i'm guessing there's a semi or two jackknifed maybe??
It has been crazy dumping and windy for a while now, but much longer it has been since there have been bombs (gazex or cannon). Some times when it's really dumping they get so muffled that I can't hear them but even then Whiskey runs and hides with his head down in the bathroom for the duration. They seem to have given up on that aspect of the fight for the time being

[goldenboy]

Damn…….last night was cold ( by Tahoe standards) and crazy windy…….a terrible night to be stuck outside……vibes for a positive outcome ++++

Sucks. His last scan was 11:30 on Christmas. 6', Flylow and Smith gear. Sure hope someone comes across him, huddled and cold around a little fire or something... My friend has already had plenty of family heartache

[janky]

I haven’t checked all resorts but both sides of Palisades closed. Mt. Rose closed. Avalanche on 89 near River Ranch. Gonna be another family snowshoe day out back. Tomorrow will be a zoo getting my son to OV for training.

[frorider]

Looks like Kwood will cosplay as the Yellowstone club today, with ch 5 running at some point.

Wish I’d brought some fat xc skis. 1st world problems.

[frorider]

Goldenboy, hoping for the best for your friend’s brother at Nstar.

[TahoeBC]

Wish I’d brought some fat xc skis. 1st world problems.

Aren’t all your skis just fat cross country skis?

Seems like Groundhog Day waking up every morning these days.

[frorider]

Aren’t all your skis just fat cross country skis?
.

Truth. Yesterday’s meadow ski in 120 flex Tele boots with no actual walk mode on 124 mm skis & no skins was super efficient

Snowing hard here. At least helping dig out cars is giving me exercise.

[Ottime]

^^^^You can head over toward Yarrow and help my god son and his cousins perfect their sled run. Always a workout and actually a ton of fun.

Flight still on schedule as of this morning and hoping to be on snow by mid day Wednesday. Looks like we waited out the storm in sunny southern Florida.

[powdork]

Heavenly's stake is gone.


Story about Goldenboy's friend. Trying to hold out hope but we've had 6' of snow since then and the sheriff isn't comfortable sending folks out of bounds
https://www.kcra.com/article/crews-s...esort/38617463

[climberevan]

It's been puking for a while here, so I bet your valley laps will be GTG when things stabilize, Gimpy.

Does anyone else think that SAC's alarmism is even more pronounced this season? The obs on their page (and my own) don't justify the pinned-at-high warning. I worry that they will be ignored if they just keep screaming that message. "High" should indicate that there are many natural slides and really touchy snow. I and others have found pretty well bonded and stable snow below treeline in recent days. I'm just afraid that they are trying to scare they uninitiated out of going into the bc (and I'm all for fewer people clogging it up!), but they are going to make the experienced users just tune out, which surely can't be the goal.

[TahoeBC]

Before the big wind storm yesterday I felt the snowpack was really good, right side up, really no weird layers where I dug, gotta be some crazy wind slabs now I would think

[powdork]

Does anyone else think that SAC's alarmism is even more pronounced this season?

I agree with your sentiment but disagree that it started this year. But being stuck inside I can't comment too much on the current situation, but there are very few obs, and they are mostly from areas we rarely think of as avie prone (spooner, kingsbury, etc). Add to that the avalanche on 89 and obs from ski resorts that don't show up on SAC and it's at least not a surprising call.

[climberevan]

I certainly don't think it started this year. I believe I've been complaining about it for several years on the TRG Tahoe threads. Preemptive "high" or even "extreme" ratings are really common now.

The insane wind since Sat afternoon (I was out in it when it started to pick up and the snow was excellent with zero instabilities) certainly has created some truly sketchy wind slab etc, but the rating has been "high", and a full on warning has been in effect since before the storm started last week. I dug a pit to the ground 2 days into it and the snowpack was just fine. I guess we're on our own out there, which is probably better anyway.

[powdork]

Is Kirkwood out of gas?

[TahoeJ]

I’m not going to armchair QB anything in particular but I would say it seems like a fair comment that SAC has often been erroring on the high side the past few seasons.

[fomofo]

This was still rainy/wet yesterday...



Can see why they don't want anyone moving around today...



Never Forget...

Alpine Meadows 1982

[4matic]

Is Kirkwood out of gas?

It wasn’t running last week either.

[powdork]

^yeah but 15 shovels and no snowblower?

[powdork]

spooner and kingsbury are the only ways in and out of the basin and both are redlined on gMaps

[powdork]

one thing I would point out re SAC is that the forecast is for avalanche terrain. They're not saying don't go, they're saying avoid avalanche terrain (which certainly seems reasonable). As always it's best to delve into the problems beyond the rose.

If traveling non-avalanche terrain below treeline today, have exact knowledge of the terrain above you with consideration for the possibility that avalanches from above could run down into the woods below. Route plan anticipating poor visibility that does not allow you to see the terrain above you.

This jibes with this
https://www.esavalanche.org/public-o...nche-incident/

and there are a few other large avalanches reported to esac since they had some visibility between waves

[powdork]

current road conditions. This isn't zoomed enough to show that 431 and 267 are also closed.

[4matic]

^yeah but 15 shovels and no snowblower?

I always assumed there was a heater under that sidewalk. That’s what I meant.

[powdork]

There was when it was built, but the ones I've been around can't keep with 3"/hour.

[mmmm...pow!]

Digging a pit in one (or even a few) spot with good results isn't necessarily indicative of the entire forecast area. For instance, the west shore has likely received double the snow of the east shore. With evidence of naturals, and an inability to access many, or most, backcountry areas, it's pretty easy for them to put the rating at high. Is that rating going to affect your decision making? Doesn't sound like it. Go dig a pit (I would recommend to the ground) and ski for yourself. There's a ridiculous amount of dumbfuckery going on around here right now just with people trying to get around and do everyday shit, and every beater and kook is all about the backcountry nowadays, so I think it's ok to put a little scare into them. On a day like today, unless you're skiing or sledding straight from the house, no one is accessing avalanche terrain anyway.