[pct-l] section D conditions

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Canoeman,

We in the Pacific Northwest are also off to a good start with snow.  The ski
areas on Mt. Hood have opened with 30-40 inches of base as a result of about
100 inches of seasonal snowfall.  The ski operators are licking their chops
based upon the general rule that any opening on, or before, Thanksgiving is
indicative of a good, long season.

A chart of Timberline’s historical base snowpack – not total accumulated
snowfall – can be seen at:
http://www.timberlinelodge.com/wp-content/uploads/base-depth-history.png  This
chart is from:  http://www.timberlinelodge.com/conditions/

On this very busy chart, note that the greatest snowpack level occurred in
the 1998-1999 snow season.  Would anyone care to guess in which year I
decided to get an early start from Cascade Locks and hike Oregon PCT
southbound?  That’s right – 1999.  I started mid-June, but by Lolo Pass the
snowpack had became a monumental pain in the butt.  Since I had all summer
to hike Oregon I bailed at that point and waited till mid-July before
restarting.  Even then I had to walk on lots of snowpack as far south as
Santiam Pass.

6 Feb 2008 – also in a heavy snow year – I took some photos of the area
around Timberline Lodge and posted 9 of them beginning at
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=294272

This kind of snow isn’t much of a problem for NoBo thru-hikers arriving in
S. Oregon in August, but it could be a concern to those planning a SoBo
hike.  The above information is specific to the N. Oregon Cascades, however
when we get clobbered it is likely most of Washington will also be hit in
about the same way.

Steel-Eye
Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09





On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 9:51 AM, <canoeman at qnet.com> wrote:

> section D conditions
>
> Light snow (6 inches in places) has fallen on Mt. Baden Powell, Burnham
> Throop,
> Dawsons Saddle. Mountain High has started making snow on Mountain High
> West- on
> Blueridge, near Wrightwood. Sections of PCT pass through snow making
> sections.
>
> canoeman
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