Is it winter?

Post general questions and discuss issues related to climbing.
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Tonka

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by Tonka » Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:32 pm

It was 50 degrees in Minneapolis yesterday and the lake I live on is not completely frozen. There should be small cities of ice houses (fishing) and herds on snowmobilers roaming around. I've never seen the lake this far behind. There is no snow at all right now but we are supposed to get an inch or so today but it looks like more snizzle and rain so far. Upside for me is I'm still getting to drive my Z4.

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lcarreau

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by lcarreau » Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:42 pm

It's been cold enough up in Utah for ice fishing, though the slopes remain almost completely void of snow due to abnormal shifts in the Jet Stream.

Just goes to show it's not easy to predict the weather. And ... like Mark Twain once said: "Everybody Talks (Complains?) About the Weather, But Nobody Does Anything About It ... for crying out loud ...

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Baarb

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by Baarb » Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:18 pm

Western Alaska seems to be getting far more snow than usual from what I hear.

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colinr

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by colinr » Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:42 pm

Indeed, the dry (and warm) is becoming record breaking in CA, but if it just cyclical/something that happens sometimes, then we'll probably be OK...at least in terms of human water supply (if next year isn't a drought year).

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19668188

Since the turn of the century, we haven't had a lot of major drought years (in CA) and we have an extensive storage system. Will we decide to maintain it, improve it, and make it more efficient? Who knows?

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lcarreau

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by lcarreau » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:44 am

Baarb wrote:Western Alaska seems to be getting far more snow than usual from what I hear.


Funny you should mention western Alaska, as I'm planning a visit there this summer.

I'm waiting 'til summer, so I can drop my line into a Salmon run and smoke a few of those tasty buggers ..

If you got 'em, smoke 'em ...

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Kiefer

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by Kiefer » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:02 am

Yah. Here in Colorado, it feels like winter, well, in the mountains it does, it smells like winter and the calander tells me it's winter but I'm not seeing it! :cry:
At this rate, spring climbing is gonna suck. Though we'll probably get dumped on come late February/March.
Vail might actually have to lower their lift txts to (GASP! :o ) like $80 or something to lure people in on their man-made snow and PP.

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lcarreau

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by lcarreau » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:30 am

Kiefer Thomas wrote:Thinking of tradin' in the sticks for a couple sets of Mickey Thompson's and headin down Icarreau way! :D


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dskoon

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by dskoon » Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:24 pm

Here in Oregon, and the Cascades, snow level is also way down, esp. compared to last year.

But, hope, at least hope, is on the way! They are predicting valley rain and mountain snow comin' our way early next week! Let's hope it happens, and and that it hits the rest of the West as well. . . Commence your snow dance :!:

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Bubba Suess

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by Bubba Suess » Fri Jan 13, 2012 1:34 am

I, for one, am pleased with the current developments. The last two years have been horrendous winters with well above average snow levels. In March2011 we had 11 feet of snow in four days and that was just one of many storms. The winter before that saw the Great Storm of 2010, which I am still cleaning up after in the back reaches of my property. After two heavy years then a light year is alright by me.

I think it is a bit reactionary to cry drought since the precipitation has not shown up yet. Should we have cried ice age after one of the last couple of years big storms? Of course, last year, with all of its record breaking snow levels, had not a single drop of precipitation in the month of January, at least in my neck of the woods.

Let's just enjoy the weather and if we get to July and there still has been nothing, then start worrying.

No one was worrying about an ice age when this happened:

My front yard (Black Butte in the distance):
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Looking at my house from the garage:
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Relieving the stress:
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Out the front door:
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colinr

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by colinr » Fri Jan 13, 2012 3:53 am

Wow, Bubba, I'm not jealous of that aspect of living where you do!

Yep, there still could be a lot of rain and snow this winter and spring. I've been enjoying the warmth and sun. I've been doing lot's of running in the hills on trails that are usually muddy this time of year down here and had some fun adventures in the mountains up your way last month. I imagine some of the normally snowed-in spots that I was able to drive up to (Crater, Eddy, Weaver Bally) are even more easily accessible now than they were a few weeks ago. The ends of those drives were a bit of an adventure (in some cases I could have saved time and effort by starting the hike a bit before the trailhead).

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Bubba Suess

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by Bubba Suess » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:33 am

The snow can be a drag, but as long as it is not Snowmageddon like the big storms we had the last two years, it can be quite pleasant. I am blessed to be able to play on Mount Eddy with snow shoes by heading right out my back door.

By the way, there is a big storm rolling in next week. Hike while you can!

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Re: Is it winter?

by kylenicolls » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:18 pm

Means I don't regret selling my snowboarding gear at all. Probably wouldn't anyway, but from what I hear Mt. Shasta Ski Park and Willamette Pass still aren't open.

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peninsula

 
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Re: Is it winter?

by peninsula » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:33 pm

This year's La Nina has been true to predictions along most of the western US coast. If the pattern continues, the NW should get a reprieve with excessive rainfall the remainder of season, hopefully that will prove true. SoCal and the Sierra should remain unseasonably dry, hopefully that won't prove true! An interesting factoid about rainfall in SoCal (not the Sierra) is until the previous two years, we experienced the least rainfall over a 12-year period in past 500 years! Some say, the last few hundred years, the entire western US has been historically wetter than "normal", and we may now be entering a more "normal" period of much less rain. Factor in human influences, and one can just as well throw out all of the data. We have no idea where the climate is going, but all indications are for increasing volatility. Current weather patterns are like the Great Recession in that as of late, we having nothing to compare the likes of.

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Re: Is it winter?

by Snowslydder » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:21 pm

This season has been a dry one for sure. I am stationed in ventura(NAVY) and hoping for some snow. I already had 4 weekends of snowboarding in by this time last season. This season I have zero.... I had a trip planned for Tahoe but I just cancled it due to the lack of snow.

I really hope that the season rights it self so we can have a decent snowboard season followed up by a good spring climbing season.

I am climbing Mt Baldy tomorrow so if anybody knows some good snow/rain dances that I can perform at the top let me know.

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