| June 6, 2005 Ski Report - Dumping |
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| Written by Ryan Wexler | |
| Monday, 06 June 2005 | |
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As I am writing this report on June 6th there are
silver dollar size snow flakes falling. Some might even say it is
duking out. There is an inch on the lawn and the road is just
about covered, nothing like June in Tahoe! The lifts have now been closed for a full week, but the ski season is far from over. As a result of our good winter, the snow pack is still deep, setting us up for great late season backcountry skiing conditions. Towards the end of memorial day weekend the weather patterns changed a bit and we started getting consistently cold nights making for great spring skiing conditions. This pattern remains present and is providing for firm corn snow in the mornings. Some of the northern aspects are staying firm enough to ski all day. In late May, we had a bit of a heat wave that left us with some baby sun cups. The sun cups are starting to get bigger, but are still completely manageable and in most places you can ski them un-hindered. On steeper slopes and at higher elevations the sun cups are quite minimal. Unfortunately, it is getting rather difficult to find perfectly smooth snow at this point. With a little luck, it is possible that this mini storm, currently blowing through, might be just the thing we need. The winds are heavy at times and this storm might hang around long enough to provide us with a couple inches of thick wind buff that will smooth the sun cups right out. The snow pack is also receding from the bottom up as the warmer days are transmitting that heat throughout the rock under the snow. Keep you eyes out and feet poised for hollow spots in the snow. The snow line is getting higher by the day. You will need to stick to higher elevations such as the Mount Rose and Tamarack Peak area to avoid significant hiking on dirt. The more shaded northern aspects have significantly more snow at lower elevations. Even so, it is getting to that time of the ski season when a machete could be as valuable a ski tool as your crampons - in order to get through the manzanita and willow fields below the snow line. If you don't mind the moderate trudge on dirt you will still find plenty of skiing options in the Tahoe basin. Another option this time of year would be to drive down to the high sierras for some bigger peaks. The snow line down there is currently at about 9500 feet. I would point out that this current weather pattern will not last forever. Eventually, the summer heat will prevail and we won't get regular freezes at night. So, get out and ski while the conditions are good. |
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