Up-Coming Events: TODAY!!! 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: Castle Lake road is open to just above Methodist Camp. They have begun work on the Everitt Mem. Hwy. to Bunny Flat, but it is not expected to open until next week. Climbers- get ready for a real climb! 9000 ft! Avalanche Advisory for Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 6:25 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 100% of normal since September 1. A strong storm series in early January deposited 4-8 feet of snow with major wind scouring above tree line. 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 clear skies with calm winds in town this morning, and it is currently 25F in Mt. Shasta and 34F in Dunsmuir. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 65 inches of snow on the ground near tree line with no new snow over the last 24 hours. We had a few snowflakes Tuesday morning, but no new snow has accumulated over the last week. 1 inch of settlement has occurred over the last 24 hours with 7 inches of settlement over the last 6 days and temperatures have ranged between 21F to 38F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 21F. Winds this morning at tree line were estimated at around 10-15 mph from the NW, and 0-5 mph from the ENE below tree line. On the upper mountain winds are estimated this morning at 20-25 mph from the NW. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received no new snow and 1 inch of settlement in the last 24 hours. We estimate around 5 ft. of snow on the ground. Temperatures near Castle Lake have been between 20F-51F over the last 24 hours and currently are around 20F. Weather Forecast: A storm is dropping down the backside of a strong high pressure ridge in the eastern Pacific, moving into Washington and Oregon. This will move into our area Sunday morning bringing cold air and only very light precipitation. Temperatures will continue to drop on Sunday, Monday and into Tuesday morning, bringing the snow level down into the foothills and Redding. Storms moving in this direction bring little snow to Mt. Shasta, but will bring a tad more into Lassen and the Sierra. Cold air will stay with us next week with fairly dry weather. Next weekend we will begin to see a change in our weather pattern with wet and unsettled weather over the end of January and into early February. For today we can expect sunshine with increasing high clouds, becoming cloudy tonight. Temperatures at mid elevations will warm into the upper 20's to mid 30's. On the upper mountain today the wind chill temperature will be around -16F. Winds below tree line today will be light and variable this morning, then increase to 10-15 mph from the WSW later today. Above tree line winds will be 10-20 mph from the NW, increasing this evening to 40 mph from the WNW. On the upper mountain today winds will increase to around 30-40 mph from the NW, reaching 65 mph tonight from the NW. Snow Pack: With a week and a half of relatively stable weather since our blizzard event in early January, our snow pack has settled and increased its' stability. The only place which maintains some moderately sensitive slabs is on the upper mountain where wind transport continues. NW winds are loading S and E aspects, adding to existing wind slabs. This is more important information for climbers, whereas skiers and riders at mid and lower elevations will be seeing variable snow conditions with the best riding on open southerly aspects below tree line. Road work continues on the Everitt which will open to Bunny Flat next week. Climbers should plan an extra day for this 9000 ft. climb over the Holiday weekend! Castle Lake road is open to just above Methodist Camp. 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!