Sunshine before the Storm

The sun finally broke through the clouds and Paradise felt almost like a beach today!  The upper parking lot filled up during the day with skiers, snowshoers,  photographers, and even some people just up for a picnic in a winter wonderland.  There were views aplenty of the upper mountain.  Calm winds and a warming air temperature trend made it hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week. 

Snow conditions varied with both aspect and time of day.  Wind from the last storm cycle came primarily from the southwest leaving wind packed and firmer conditions and about 3 inches of ski penetration.  The leeward northeast aspects had softer drifts and more variable, but deeper ski penetration.  Solar radiation started making noticeable changes midday, changing the fluffy drifts into mashed potatoes.

The forecast doesn't look good for skiers, the Mount Rainier Recreational Forecast says:

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH

LATE SUNDAY NIGHT: 

Weak high pressure will give way to a vigorous front on Sunday 

afternoon and evening. 

SUNDAY...Windy. Mostly cloudy in the morning, then rain and snow
in the afternoon. Snow accumulation near Paradise up to 3 inches.
Snow level near 4000 feet. 
SUNDAY NIGHT...Windy. Rain and snow. Snow accumulation near 
Paradise of 4 to 8 inches. Snow level near 5000 feet. 

Extra caution should be used when recreating in the backcountry as a storm front like this approaches the mountain.  Simple equipment failures, navigation errors, and small injuries can lead to serious consequences when the weather turns for the worse.  Please remember that there's no ski patrol on Mount Rainier.  Rangers and Search & Rescue Volunteers are at least hours, and possibly days(!), away from reaching injured and lost parties and storms can prevent any search or rescue attempt.

Almost five feet of snow has accumulated in the Paradise area.  This is a great start for our base snowpack.  There's still some small trees and rocks sticking out, and creek drainages shouldn't be entered, but many of the smaller hazards are buried until spring.   

Check the Park's Twitter Feed for the latest on the road condition and closures and come on up for a visit!  Be safe out there and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Chinook and Cayuse Closed for Winter

Chinook Pass and Cayuse Pass on the east side of Mount Rainier have been closed for the winter season.  WADOT and the NPS consider the snowpack, the avalanche danger, and the weather forecast when making the decision to close the highways for the season, and it typically happens in mid-November.

Check out the park's road status webpage for more details.

It's also getting to be the time of year when the road to Paradise is closed at night for snow removal operations.  The park's twitter feed is the best way to track when the Paradise Road will be open on a daily basis. 

Winter is Back!

On November 3 Longmire received it's first recorded snow for the 2017/2018 winter season and it looks like there's a lot more on the way. The UW GFS model shows anothher good hit of snow coming our way with significant accumulation.

Of course Paradise received considerably more snow than Longmire did and this is welcome news for skiers and boarders. We want to make sure that folks are taking precautions with all of the new snow we are expecting. The Northwest Avalanche Center has not yet begun issuing a daily forecast yet but it has issued a statement for the weekend. The one that pertains to the Paradise area can be found here.

Reading through it will give you an idea of what to expect if you're planning to travel above treeline, especially this:

Given the recent heavy snowfall in parts of our forecast zones, expect the potential for avalanches at higher elevations as conditions for storm slab and loose dry avalanches (primarily) will be present this weekend where anchoring is insufficient.

For more reading about early season avalanche hazard check out this short paper by Avalanche Canada.

Have fun out there but please be safe!