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 Friday, January 11, 2008 at 6:45 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 110% 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 fog in town this morning, and it is currently 33F in Mt. Shasta and 35F in Dunsmuir. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 76 inches of snow on the ground near tree line with a trace of new snow over the last 24 hours. We had a storm total of 84 inches or 7 feet from 1/3-1/10. 2-4 inches of settlement has occurred over the last 24 hours and temperatures have ranged between 24F to 33F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 24F. Winds this morning at tree line were estimated at around 35-40 mph from the W, and 15 mph from the SW below tree line. On the upper mountain winds are estimated this morning at 75 mph from the NW. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received 1 inch of new snow in the last 24 hours. We estimate around 5.5 ft. of snow on the ground and a temperature at Castle Lake this morning of 27F. Weather Forecast: We will have a break today with cloudy skies and relatively warm temperatures. Tonight into Saturday morning we will catch the bottom end of a storm which will be fairly weak and bring only 1-3 inches of snow above 6000 ft. High pressure will begin developing Sunday and dry conditions are expected through most of next week. Relatively warm day time temperatures and cold nights will help stabilize the snow pack next week with the melt-freeze process in action at mid and lower elevations. For today temperatures at 5-8,000 ft. will warm into the mid to upper 30's. Winds below tree line today will be fairly light from the SW at 5-10 mph. Above tree line winds will be 20-30 mph from the WNW and on the upper mountain winds will be strong in the morning from the NW at 55-75 mph, then slowing down this afternoon and evening to 30-40 mph from the WNW. Snow Pack: Yesterday, warm temperatures and light mist made the snow a bit heavy. Snow was falling out of the trees, creating some funky tree skiing. Nick made it to mid elevations yesterday and found moderate to good stability during tests, with failures in the top 6-12 inches of snow. Today, we will have a crust with heavy crud in open areas as temperatures warm. As the NW jet stream passes overhead this morning, it will transport snow to S and E aspects above tree line, creating some new wind slabs in those areas. The warm temperatures may also make cornices a bit sensitive at lower to mid elevations today, so continue to give them plenty of space as they could trigger heavy slabs underneath them. For the most part at lower elevations, the snow pack has been warming and settling, adding to the stability with isolated areas sensitive to human triggers on steep and wind loaded slopes. Examining the results from a Rutschblock stability test 01/11/08 on Mt. Shasta. Test results from a Rutschblock today (1/11/08) at low elevation. This 50 cm slab failed on the first jump during a Rutschblock test (R4) and had a Quality 1-2 shear (clean failure, smooth plane, travelled as a unit 1 foot). 30 degree, N facing slope at 4600 ft. Dylan is my lovely assistant on snowshoes! 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!