Good morning this is Sue Burak with the Eastern Sierra Avalanche
   Center with an avalanche advisory posted on Saturday, February 9,
   2008. 

   MOUNTAIN WEATHER
   Light winds and clear sunny days will continue through the weekend.
   The last couple of days have seen a welcome increase in daytime highs
   and a welcome decrease in winds. Highs will continue to be in the
   upper 30s to mid 40s up to 11,000 feet. Tioga Pass and Bishop Pass
   reached 44 F yesterday. Charlotte Lake, one of the coldest places in
   the forecast area, had a high of 38F on Friday. Low temperatures will
   continue to be in the low to mid 20s above 8,000 feet with lower
   elevation valley lows in the low to mid teens.

   There will be little change in the weather until next Tuesday, when
   passing storm brings some clouds and wind to our area. At this point,
   there is no precipitation forecasted. For the long range, normal
   amounts of precipitation are forecasted for Central California. Strong
   La Nina conditions could continue through the spring.

   The MJO is expected to continue shifting slowly eastward over the next
   1-2 weeks. Though the Pacific Northwest will see wet conditions
   initially, as the MJO shifts eastward, northern and central California
   could see wet conditions by the third week in February.

   SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
   Snowpack conditions are quite variable right now the snow and wind of
   earlier this week and the last week of January created a brave new
   world of sastrugi, deep wind drifts, wind scoured slopes, breakable
   crust and pockets of settled powder in alpine areas. Skiing the trees
   below 10,000 feet is becoming somewhat of a weight lifting project as
   solar radiation energy hastens the sintering process and the upper
   layers increase in water content. Digging pits in wind exposed areas
   is easier with a snow saw, its that hard. Multiple wind layers are
   found in the upper 20 to 30 inches of the snowpack from Rock Creek to
   June Lake. Though somewhat reactive in compression tests, extended
   column tests show no fracture and no propagation except on south
   aspects.

   The snowpack is generally stable right now with 2 exceptions:

   North facing, steep convex terrain where the snowpack is thinner,
   especially around rock outcrops, are places where a skier or rider
   could still trigger a slide. If you find a thin spot on a slab with
   buried faceted snow, you still might be able to trigger an avalanche.
   What might happen if it slides? If you are unfortunate enough to
   trigger a hard slab that breaks above you, it could be a very large
   avalanche. It is unlikely this will occur with our current snowpack,
   but still watch out for places where the snow is shallow. The big
   lines being skied now pose a hazard if you hit a shallow tender spot
   on a convex roll.

   Snowpack temperatures on south facing slopes are increasing to close
   to 0 degrees in the top 10-15 cm of the pack. Many point release
   slides are happening in the afternoon on steep slopes from 8,000 to
   10,000 feet. Below 8,000 feet, there will be corn snow in a few days
   on southern aspects. However, this snow has many wind layers and a
   rain layer and does not consistently support a skiers weight.

   BOTTOM LINE
   The avalanche danger rating today is LOW on all non wind loaded
   aspects from 8,000 to 11,000 feet. There are isolated areas of
   MODERATE danger in steep wind loaded alpine terrain.

   The avalanche danger rating is LOW in the morning on southern aspects,
   increasing to MODERATE on steep southern slopes greater than 35
   degrees. Wet point release slides are becoming more common and could
   trigger a wet slab avalanche.

   Please note that the avalanche danger rating in this advisory expires
   in 24 hours. This advisory is our best interpretation of snow pack
   conditions and NWS forecasts issued today. Backcountry travelers
   should be aware that elevation and geographic distinctions are
   approximate and that a transition zone exists between upper and lower
   elevations.

   Avalanches do not happen by accident and most human involvement is a
   matter of choice not chance. Most avalanche accidents are caused by
   slab avalanches that are triggered by the victim of member of the
   victim's party. Even small slides can be dangerous. Always practice
   route finding skills and carry avalanche rescue gear. Remember that
   avalanche danger ratings are only general guidelines. Distinctions
   between geographic areas, elevations, slope aspects and slope angles
   should be made.