Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update

Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update
Weather: (March 28 through April 3)
High temp: 54°F (April 3)
Low temp: 9°F (April 2)
New Snow: 13 inches
Total settled snow depth: 23 inches as of April 4, 2012

Skiing Conditions and Weather: Spring has sprung here at Tuolumne Meadows! We had two snow "storms" this week, which did not amount to much new snow, but made for some great powder skiing immediately after the skies cleared. Then when the temperatures warmed up and the Sierra sunshine did its thing, the snow surface set up quickly and has made for some great corn skiing. As long as it continues to freeze overnight the touring and turning should remain good. With a shallow snowpack, however, it won’t last long. Coverage is still good in all drainages and on all aspects except Southern. The Tioga Road is 100% snow covered from the Yosemite Park boundary at Tioga Pass down to approximately the 7000 feet in elevation. As always the ski conditions are dependent on the weather so make sure you get a forecast before starting your trip.

Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: For the latest avalanche advisory for this area go to http://www.esavalanche.org for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events.

It continues to be a quiet winter for avalanche activity in the Tuolumne area. We did observe several natural, small, wet, loose snow avalanches on East aspects of Unicorn Peak yesterday as the temperatures warmed up the snowpack. Travelers should pay particular attention to overnight temperatures this time of year as the avalanche hazard will increase on any day that the snow surface does not freeze overnight.

Wildlife: Three birds that were new to our list this season were seen this week. One was a Northern Goshawk that was both heard and seen here in the Tuolumne area. Yesterday morning while ascending Unicorn Creek, a Black-backed woodpecker was drumming on a Lodgepole pine snag. Other woodpeckers including the Northern Flicker have been growing increasingly vocal as spring arrives. Last but not least, hundreds of delicate Painted-Lady Butterflies have been braving the winds and unsettled weather to make their way west. Good luck little guys!

Thanks eeek!