Up-Coming Events: 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 early this week. Climbers- get ready for a real climb! 9000 ft! Avalanche Advisory for Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 6:15 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 98% 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 cloudy skies with calm winds in town this morning, and it is currently 22F in Mt. Shasta and 29F in Dunsmuir. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 64 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 8 inches of settlement over the last week and temperatures have ranged between 20F to 42F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 21F. Winds this morning at tree line were estimated at around 20 mph from the NW, and 15 mph from the W below tree line. On the upper mountain winds are estimated this morning at 35 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 11F-52F over the last 24 hours and currently are around 13F. Weather Forecast: A weak storm is moving into our area today and will bring cold continental air to the State of Jefferson. The direction of this storm is not favorable for precipitation in our area and will only bring a thin dusting today. Some areas, like the Medicine Lake Highlands, could get up to 3 inches over the next 48 hours. This storm will move to the west and park off the coast this week bringing a little more moisture to the Sierra, with easterly winds and cold temperatures to our area. Although little snow is expected, snow levels will drop to Shasta Lake or Redding tonight with unusually cold temperatures. We will begin to see a change by the end of the week with warming temperatures and wet and unsettled weather over the Snow Ball weekend (1/26-27) and into early February. For today we can expect cloudy skies with light snow showers possible. Temperatures at mid elevations will stay in the upper teens to low 20's with single digits above tree line. The wind chill expected on the summit today is -39F... BURRRRR! Winds below tree line today will be light from the NW. Above tree line, winds will be around 25 mph from the WNW this morning and decrease to around 10 mph from the NW most of the day. On the upper mountain, NW winds will be strong this morning and decrease to around 30 mph from the NW most of the day and around 20 mph tonight. Snow Pack: Our snow pack has had time to settle and stabilize over the last 1.5 weeks. Cold temperatures will keep things pretty solid over the next several days. We still have some concerns at upper elevations for small wind slabs and Moderate avalanche danger on S and E aspects, while most other areas will have Low avalanche danger. Stability tests at mid elevations this week continue to show fair stability with Rutschblock scores of R6 (R1-3=unstable; R4-5=Moderate; R6-7 fair Stability). With limited access to the mountain, this is more important information for climbers, whereas skiers and riders at mid and lower elevations will be seeing variable snow conditions with generally very hard snow on southerly aspects and a variety of crusts on other aspects. Road work continues on the Everitt which will open to Bunny Flat this 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!