By Eric White The Details: This Season: Our season started late and has had higher winds than normal above tree line. Our precipitation is around 94% of normal since September 1. January brought several heavy and cold snow storms. Snow pack at lower elevations is well above normal, near normal at tree line, and below normal above tree line due to wind scouring. Recent snow surveys locally show our snow pack below tree line at around 137% of normal. 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 and calm winds in town this morning, and it is currently 29F in Mt. Shasta, and 22F in McCloud Valley. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 85 inches of snow on the ground below tree line with no new snow over the last 11 days. The snow has settled 0.5 inches over the last 24 hours and 24 inches over the 11 days. Temperatures have ranged between 10F to 32F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 22F. Winds this morning are estimated at 10 mph below tree line from the E. Above tree line winds are estimated at 25 mph from the NE and on the upper mountain winds are estimated at 20 mph from the N. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received no new snow and 1 inch of settlement in the last 24 hours, with 27 inches of settlement over the last 11 days. We estimate around 6 ft. of snow on the ground. The temperature on Mt. Eddy this morning is a roasting 36F. Temperatures near Castle Lake have been between 14F-44F over the last 24 hours and currently are around 22F. Weather Forecast: High pressure has moved over our area bringing warm air and dry conditions through the Holiday weekend. HA few storms will begin weakening the high pressure early next week with wet and unsettled weather next week, beginning Tuesday. Long range trends are for wet and cool weather in late February and early March. For today we can expect sunny skies with temperatures warming to the upper 30's to low 40's at mid elevations and the upper 40's to low 50's at low elevations. Winds below tree line will be light from the E and NE, then moving to the N later today. Above tree line, winds will be 10-15 mph from the NNE, moving to the NW this evening and increasing to 20-25 mph. On the upper mountain, winds will be 20 mph from the N, moving to the NW later this morning and increasing this evening to 30-40 mph. Snow Pack: Access continues to be a challenge with longer approaches than normal due to road closures. The Ski Park will open today. The snow pack has settled dramatically over the last 2 weeks and warm temperatures have helped increase stability. With temperatures staying relatively cool yesterday, things remained pretty bomber. Riding conditions will improve today at lower elevations as temperatures begin to warm and corn snow will be found in open southerly areas below 8000 ft, just starting to soften up by late morning. Some open south facing slopes at low elevations will get soft this afternoon and a chance of wet slabs on slopes greater than 35 degrees will exist. Although winds have slowed down today, wind slabs still exist on the upper mountain (12,000 ft. on up) and climbers should be observant for wind loaded areas on southerly aspects. 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! Pilgrim Creek Snowmobile Park: Stephen's pass was groomed 2/12. Deer Mnt. and Ash Creek Butte were groomed 2/14.