Up-Coming Events: January 12, 9 am - Shasta Mountain Guides offers a free, Womens' transceiver clinic. Meet at The Fifth Season. January 18, 6 pm - Free Avalanche Awareness presentation at the Mt. Shasta Library 1-1.5 hours January 19, 9am - Free Avalanche Transceiver clinic. Meet at the Fifth Season and be prepared to travel on snow. January 26, 6 pm - 6th Annual Snow Ball Fundraising event put on by Friends of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center and sponsored by Timberworks and Chitwood Energy Management at the Mt. Shasta City Park with Dinner, music, dancing, all types of beverages and tons of raffle and silent auction items. Best party of the year! January 27, Flying Squirrel Classic - Telemark and Rando fun race; costumes optional; backcountry demo gear available. Benefit for Friends of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center and sponsored by The Fifth Season. Registration 11:30-12:30, race at 1:00 pm. Best fun race of the season! Special Note: As of 9 am on 1/10/08, it looks like both the Everitt and Castle Lake roads will continue to remain closed for an extended time period. We will keep you informed when they open. Avalanche Advisory for Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 6:20 am By Eric White The Details: This Season: We had an early thin snow pack with December bringing near normal precipitation and 3.5 feet of snow along with strong winds above tree line. Our precipitation is around 112% of normal since September 1. A strong storm series in early January deposited 4-8 feet of snow with huge wind drifts. We are in a "La Nina" climate condition which often means wetter than normal winters in our area and expectations are for above normal precipitation into the spring of 2008. Weather Observations: We have cloudy skies with light rain/snow and a trace to 4 inches of snow over the last 24 hours in town this morning. It is currently 34F in Mt. Shasta and 33F in Dunsmuir. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 78 inches of snow on the ground near tree line with 3-4 inches of new snow over the last 24 hours. We have a storm total of 84 inches or 7 feet since 1/3. 2-4 inches of settlement has occurred over the last 24 hours and temperatures have ranged between 17F to 30F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 24F. Winds this morning at tree line were estimated at around 50 mph from the W, and 25-30 mph from the WNW below tree line. On the upper mountain winds are estimated this morning at 70 mph from the W. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received 2 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours. We estimate that Castle Lake received 2-4 inches of new snow over the last 24 hours and a storm total of 6-7 feet. We estimate around 6 ft. of snow on the ground and a temperature at Castle Lake this morning of 27F. Weather Forecast: We are near the bottom end of a weakening system which will pass through today. However, there is a strong jet stream pushing it and a long plume of moisture going out to Hawaii. Snow showers will continue today with snow levels at 4-5000 ft. and 2-3 inches of snow possible at mid elevations. Another small storm will push through Friday evening, then High pressure will develop and bring warm and dry conditions through most of next week. Temperatures today at mid elevations will hover in the upper 20's to 32F. Winds below tree line will be from the SSW at 10-15 mph with gusts to 25 mph. At mid elevations winds will be 30-40 mph from the W. On the upper mountain winds will continue at 70 mph from the W and move to the NW early tomorrow morning. Snow Pack: Hopefully today our access roads will open. They were working on the Everitt yesterday. Yesterday I was limited to fairly low elevations (4-5000 ft.) where I found moderate to good stability during tests and reports from higher elevations were similar over the last few days with Rutschblock scores between R4-R6 at 6-8000 ft., failures 1 ft. below the surface. With temperatures in the atmosphere 5-10 degrees warmer than yesterday we will see some heavy snow near the surface with lighter snow underneath. This will help human triggered failures in steeper areas, but without a defined weak layer, slabs won't be super sensitive. My concerns continue above tree line with wind slabs which have formed over the last week with periods of strong winds and 7 feet of new snow. The jet stream today will continue to load easterly aspects above tree line, so if the road opens today, don't let your enthusiasm blind you to the wind slabs on SE/E/NE aspects. By tomorrow morning, more wind loading from NW winds will affect E/SE and S aspects. This creates pockets of Considerable avalanche danger above tree line (~8000ft.) and Moderate avalanche danger elsewhere. Some important thoughts: This advisory does not apply to Ski Areas or Highways and is for the Mt. Shasta, Castle Lake and Mt. Eddy back country. Use this information for guidance only. You may find different conditions in the backcountry and should travel accordingly. This advisory expires at midnight tonight. As always, use safe travel practices: travel with a partner, travel one at a time in suspect areas, go from one island of safety to another, choose safe routes, wear a transceiver, carry a shovel and probe, and know how to use your gear!