Latest News – Wallowa Avalanche Center

Winds have subsided substantially since last evening. They are now down in the manageable range and are likely to stay that way throughout the remainder of this storm cycle according to the NWS. Much instability will be with us for a few days more with off and on snow showers. As of today and this hour we have added between 1.5″ and 2″ of water weight to the snowpack. This is a substantial load on the snowpack and we are likely to see evidence of natural activity. Avalanche terrain is going to be very sensitive to the weight of a person right now, so beware. Travel with heightened awareness to these new developments when in or around avalanche terrain.

I just got off the phone with the National Weather Service in Pendleton. It is not often that I would interrupt their workday (on a Sunday) but they are very kind in support of this avalanche center.

The news – A very strong system is eminent starting this afternoon and lasting at least throughout all day Monday. Very high winds coupled with heavy snowfall and heavy snowfall rates can be expected. Upper elevation ridges and summits will see extreme conditions with this system. Mid elevation locations especially in wind exposed terrain will see hazardous travel conditions. Please monitor the National Weather Service during this storm cycle for the latest weather updates to assist your backcountry travel plans. We suggest you use the Local Weather button to the left and scroll down to the NWS Aneroid Mountain Milepost Forecast to keep abreast of the changing conditions.

Alter your backcountry travel plans accordingly to remain safe.
Keith

If I brought my venier caliper or micrometer outside this morning in downtown Joseph, I suppose I might have measured 0.200″ of snow. Not much. Mountains have received about 3″. Lingering flurries today in the mountains with continued instability clouds. Winds may be a little less strong on the peaks today than the very early morning forecasts originally suggested. Tomorrow will be a pleasant sunny day up high.

Hope Fergi is open tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.
Today’s summary is hot off the press with lots of good stuff.
Keith

While the valley received heavy rain Sunday evening the mountains above about 6500′ received heavy wet snow. Depths were in the 6 inch range at the mid elevations (around 7500′). From springlike warmth the last three days to nearly winter today reminds us that although it’s spring officially now, winter ain’t over!

Julian and Keith were doing observations in the Aneroid Basin on Saturday and it was a warm hike in. Mostly sunny all day, south winds gusting a bit on the ridgetops but the basin was either a gentle breeze or dead calm. Several older slides occurred on the NE -> E aspects of Lookout Mtn there and we had a chance to study a flank of one slide for stability. Pic here is of Dollar Ridge on Saturday and notice there was no new avalanche activity there, much to our surprise.

All the details on Friday.
Keith

Dollar Ridge, Aneroid Basin on 3-20-10

This week we received word from the IRS that we have been granted 501(c)(3) status as a public charity. What this means to all of you who donate to us is that your donations and gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law when you do your taxes.

Our 501(c)(3) status is retroactive to the day we were incorporated on July 27, 2009. So any donations you made to us during 2009 from July 27 onward is deductible. We are very excited about the IRS recognizing us in this way, since not only does it help you – our friends, donors, and sponsors – but it opens up our ability to apply for grants. Would there be anyone out there who would like to offer some volunteer time to assist us in grant writing?

As mentioned, the month of March is a time when we are experimenting a bit with our weekly summary. Changing things up a little, trying out different writing styles and editors. Please give us a little feedback on what you like, dislike, want more/less of, etc. Jot us a note to: info@wallowaavalanchecenter.org. Tell us also what you think of the website.

After a long spell of dry and warm conditions we can report 4″ to 6″ new snow in the Wallowas from the storm of the last 24 hours. Continued instability will be with us until Wednesday evening with another few inches accumulation. Then high pressure builds in for the remainder of the week.

WAC would appreciate those of you who use this site regularly to comment on the format of the weekly summaries during the month of March. We are experimenting with some different format ideas, styles of writing and so forth and would appreciate you jotting us a line on what you think about them. Offer thoughts on what changes you might like to see. This summer we’ll be taking all this into consideration as we plan our second full year of service to you next winter. Respond to info@wallowaavalanchecenter.org.

Please consider a donation to us so we can plan new things to offer come next winter. We are moving steadily forward to having a remote weather station on top of Mt. Howard with wind speed/direction and high/low/current temperatures for next winter season. We still need to purchase a couple remaining items, so donations will be used toward this endeavor. Use PayPal or send a check to the address found below.

Thanks,
Keith

In Memory of Roger Thomas Roepke; February 21, 1959—March 7, 2009

This Sunday marks the one year anniversary of an avalanche that took the life of a fine man– husband, father and friend. There are no words to adequately convey the gratitude my sons and I share for our friends and for this community and especially for the Search and Rescue team that came to our aid. Despite our loss, we feel truly embraced by these incredible people that have helped us through this year. Roger would be so proud.

As we celebrate the life of an extraordinary man I would ask you to honor him by loving and respecting the back country as much as he did; be present and enjoy every moment. That is how Roger lived his life. His powerful spirit thrives within all of us.

Lisa Armstrong-Roepke
March 5, 2010

Tim Farrar, an avalanche forecaster in the Sierra Nevadas and good friend to us (The Roepke family) sent the following quote:

Snow means different things to different people. To a small boy/girl it is an inexhaustible supply of ammunition; when s/he makes a snowball s/he is utilizing two of snow’s special qualities; cohesion and compaction. To the merchant, it is an unmitigated nuisance to be scraped off his/her sidewalk; in a big city, snow can be a minor disaster that halts all forms of transportation, tears down power and telephone lines, and costs millions of dollars to get rid of. To the hydrologist it is the most perfect form of water storage; requiring no costly dams, it collects the moisture of an entire winter and releases that moisture gradually through the summer; without it the snow-fed rivers of the West would alternate between raging flood and blistering desert and life as we know it would be impossible. To the skier, snow is an ideal sliding surface for a pair of steel and plastic slivers attached to his/her feet, a combination that has reversed man’s age-old dread of winter; the mountains, avoided in the snow season by our forefathers, have become the playground of millions. Thus the nature of snow depends somewhat upon the eye of the beholder.

Lying on a mountainside, snow looks so innocent, so bland, and to the uneducated eye so unchanging, yet the avalanche hunter knows it to be the most changeable substance on Earth. From the moment the first molecule of water vapor floating around in the atmosphere condenses around some minute particle of dust, snow never really stops changing until it becomes water again, flows down to the sea and begins the cycle all over. The life of a snow crystal can be shorter than a butterfly’s, for it may melt on the way down and fall to Earth as rain. On the other hand, the life of a snow crystal may be measured in centuries if it happens to become part of a glacier. Be it for moments or eras, the nature of snow is that it never entirely stops changing. This is not of course, a unique property. Everything is changing in its own way and at its own pace.

~Montgomery M. Atwater-father of US Avalanche Science

Yesterday (Wednesday) Trevor Miller was in Joseph after a backcountry ski outing in the Wallowas and we finally met face to face. Trevor is the founder of Central Oregon Avalanche Association. Like ours, his association is a grass roots effort to get the avalanche safety word out for the mountains nearest Bend and is based in Bend, OR. Please check out their website: coavalanche.org. We talked about working together for mutually beneficial goals since our two organizations will cover most of the regions east of the cascade crest. We are thinking of making a trip this April up to the Northwest Avalanche Center in Seattle after a cordial invitation not long ago from Mark Moore, the director there.
WAC looks forward to perhaps planning certain events along with coavalanche to promote the avalanche safety word.

A special thanks to Ken Bronec for doing such a thorough job with last weeks summary. Some thoughts are going through my mind about when to terminate the weekly summary. I’m thinking of Friday April 9. Most centers complete their normal schedules by mid April and we may follow that lead. If enough readers wish us to go longer – the squeaky wheel gets the grease – so speak up.

Keith

I arrived today back in Wallowa County to beautiful cobalt blue skies with barely a distant promise from forecasters for a flurry or two of snow for the next 5 days. Hmmmm. Well, the Wasatch range of Utah is getting no better promises for snow either.

I have heard that our beacon practice day up at Salt Creek Summit was packed with good stuff. A little indoor seminar for 45 minutes then all headed outside where the rubber meets the road. First was a single burial situation near the parking lot. Then after lunch was a hike to the bottom of Baird’s Run for a multiple burial scenario that was set up on Saturday. Ken even buried an extra pack without a beacon in case they had time to do a probe line. “We had plenty of time for that and a debrief on the hill. It was a good educational day for all of us”, said Ken Bronec who lead the event.
Many thanks to Jerry Hustafa and Paul Arentsen for giving of their time for helping out in this field day practice session.

This weeks summary will include some fun research stuff I’m working on and learning about from the masters at the Utah Avalanche Center.

Enjoy the week and keep looking for the POW!
Keith