southern avalanches
with apologies to all you happy bums who live in heaven (lone pine & north), i'd like to start a thread about avalanche danger in the southern california mountains. i think it would be a worthwhile discussion. i know that many of those interested this website live in southern california, and if we're backcountry-oriented, we ski our local mountains often. this is a banner year--only about one in five gets this good--and i'd like to ask others about their avalanche experiences down here and things and places to be alert for.
i ski rather conservatively and have rather rudimentary avalanche training, supplemented by a reading habit. i'm good at avoiding obvious danger, but i've been around professionals who make me feel like i've got a lot to learn.
that said, i can report that, over the years, there have been a number of avalanche deaths on mt. baldy, involving "expert skiers" (as reported in the los angeles times) who are tempted to go off piste at the mt. baldy downhill resort, which has many steep slopes adjacent. these accidents have occurred during or immediately after big storms when the powder high takes over and the dangers, which seem quite obvious, are ignored.
i think baldy presents some danger later in the season too. baldy bowl (not part of the resort, but the main backcountry magnet) is quite popular and there are many daring tracks down its upper chutes and the steep slope at the south end. people have told me of skiing out of--and through--small wet snow avalanches in the bowl. about six years ago i noticed a late spring avalanche there with a long runout at least 8 feet deep--could have been quite deadly.
i myself witnessed a small avalanche on baden-powell one year, the first week in may. i was out with my partner brad the morning after an 8-inch, late season storm. the new snow got heavy fast, but it lay relatively lightly on top of the season's deep, well-consolidated base. we picked our way down the north side and headed for the lightly forested lower chute just east of the main north couloir. i noticed lots of spectacular rollers radiating out from every turn we made. then a group of very aggressive skiers passed us, pounding down the deep powder in the trees slightly to the east. wish i could ski like that, i told myself. when we got to the lower couloir, it looked like it had just been groomed by a machine--a very even-sided break, going several hundred yards. the runout was only 3 feet deep--only the fresh snow had slid. when we got back to the cars, there was lots of excited laughter from these fellows.
Perhaps the relative lack of southern information is due to the predictability of the area. Some wisdom I’ve learned over the years:
One should avoid the steeps, regionally, after a new storm of significance, since everything can be unstable.
One should always be wary of north side slopes; they can remain unstable for considerable periods after storms, especially in the early season. Additionally the taller peaks north slopes can become unstable over time, due to rotten layers in the pack. And then there is the wet slab threat that is present later in the season.
Fortunately southern and western aspects stabilize quickly, within a couple of days, but beware of heavy wet spring snow storms.
Specifically, the North side of Baldy demands respect. Perhaps the entire north slope of the costal range should be respected, but lack of accidents – probably due to lack of traffic – otherwise give a false sense of security.
The North Side of Gergonio should also be respected, the large summit bowl observable fro Big Bear is known for slab releases, as it is a leeward slope. The trail up from Poopout Hill also has several chutes one needs to be aware of.
I have not heard of significant slide hazards associated with San Jack, except for snow Creek Canyon, that north side chute that faces the freeway. But those choosing to climb that mother probably like that danger.
Ed
i find this east sierra information pretty useful--just have to factor in a little more southern and a little more coast-influenced.
Yeh likewise I'm in southern california and play in San Bernardinos / San Jacinto and sister mountains.
There apparently are no general avalanche advisories given for these ranges, at least that I can find :(
A call to the ranger asking if they issue one, just gets a response of they've had no problems/issues with avalanches in recent history =0.
So apparently those snow packs are avalanche free, hopefully someone has informed the snow of this as well :-D.
The forest service sites seem to just have a page under conditions
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/conditions/
telling you to become 'Avalance Aware' and linking you to http://www.fsavalanche.org/ which is a general knowledge site, with no advisories. That site ultimately links you back to http://www.avalanche.org
I've poked around looking for data from local ski patrol sites but haven't found anything of general use.
I guess the only recourse is to try and extrapolate what's going on in other maritime ranges to some extent, and use ones own knowledge to judge safety.
It would be nice to have a professional general advisory to begin with however.