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Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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OK, we have to start sometime! It's 38° at the top of Slide Mountain this morning. Can snow making at Mt. Rose be far behind?:golfclap::roflmao::daffy:
 

Eric267

Gettin after it
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36* at my place in SLT. Sure felt a hint of winter as the clouds rolled through yesterday.

Looked like a dusting of snow on Shasta...

Did you get the butterfly swarms down there in south lake? It's absolutely insane up here in Kings Beach!! Just appeared out of nowhere Monday or Tuesday evening. They look like little orangish/brown leaves blowing around when driving up 267 on the basin side. Once you crest the summit and head down to martis valley there's almost none.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.rgj.com/amp/1949151001
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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Did you get the butterfly swarms down there in south lake? It's absolutely insane up here in Kings Beach!! Just appeared out of nowhere Monday or Tuesday evening. They look like little orangish/brown leaves blowing around when driving up 267 on the basin side. Once you crest the summit and head down to martis valley there's almost none.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.rgj.com/amp/1949151001
Yes, the butterflies hatched on the north side of Tahoe Mountain here about a week & half ago.
Totally mesmerizing to ride through them.
These were in my backyard for a few mornings

They are called Tortoiseshells
BBC713EE-E7EC-4ECD-A357-61530158D9C9.jpeg

Still lots in certain areas.
 

Tricia

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@Stephen is going to be here to do a bit of Patch skiing next weekend. Does this mean its his 30th day of the 2018-19 season or are you(via this thread) screwing with his desire to get his 30th day in?
 
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Andy Mink

Andy Mink

Everyone loves spring skiing but not in January
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@Stephen is going to be here to do a bit of Patch skiing next weekend. Does this mean its his 30th day of the 2018-19 season or are you(via this thread) screwing with his desire to get his 30th day in?
@Tricia, since the snow @Stephen will be on "old" snow he gets to count number 30. Anything on new snow is 19-20! That's my story.
 

Stephen

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@Stephen is going to be here to do a bit of Patch skiing next weekend. Does this mean its his 30th day of the 2018-19 season or are you(via this thread) screwing with his desire to get his 30th day in?

@Tricia, since the snow @Stephen will be on "old" snow he gets to count number 30. Anything on new snow is 19-20! That's my story.


It is most definitely 18/19 snow that I’ll be skiing on, so for sure it is day 30! ;)
 

textrovert

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Sierra-at-Tahoe announces RFID passes for the upcoming season.

https://www.sierraattahoe.com/rfid/

"Getting on the slopes at Sierra-at-Tahoe has never been easier, thanks to the implementation of hands-free gate access systems (known as RFID) to all entry lifts. These gates will scan your reloadable RFID card from inside your pocket; we will no longer be manually scanning tickets or season passes. Guests may now expect streamlined access to the lifts and an easy pass-reload system, allowing for more time shredding and less time in line."
 

SSSdave

life is short precious ...don't waste it
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OI06321y.jpg


That Shasta August pic was unlikely snow but rather pea sized hail. As someone backpacking the High Sierra over decades, hail during thunderstorms at higher elevations is common and sometimes piles up several inches deep looking like snow from a distance. Actually the reason thunderstorm rain drops are often large is because they are melted hail stones. At high elevations those same drops didn't have time to melt while falling through the thinner cooler atmosphere. Not only is hail more common at such elevations but also scary lighting with thunder. The above August 2015 shot shows Red Slate Mountain a 13k foot peak near Mammoth after one such storm in 2015. And the below was early August 2017 where I was camped at 10.2k feet on Laurel Creek after 4 inches of hail buried everything.

RC01264y.jpg


As you Tahoe residents know, the tail end of a cold front centered up in Oregon passed through your area yesterday with freezing levels well above 10k. Forecasts now show a system moving further south across Northern California after this weekend with lower freezing levels that just may dust the high peaks. All this is uncommon most years till later September so am hoping we are seeing a pattern.

A bro and I just hiked out Sunday from a 5 day backpack to Duck Lake also near Mammoth, my fourth wilderness trip this summer, over 25 days, so these strong bump skiing legs are in prime condition. Also the plantar fascitis bothering my right foot all last season seems to have healed nicely. Below dawn moon foxtail pine shot from my camp at Anvil Camp at 10.2k as I hiked out August 28 from over Shepherd Pass.

dawnAC1.jpg
 
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SSSdave

life is short precious ...don't waste it
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MoonL-dawn1.jpg

Thanks folks. For your kind words will share a short story with another colorful dawn image from that trip.

This dawn reflection silhouette is from what I call "The Moon Pond", along the PCT/JMT trails in the upper Kern Basin of Sequoia National Park at 11.4k elevation. Ironically this nameless pond is arguably one of the most spectacular bodies of water in the range. I was tented about 1/4 mile north 150 feet down the slope. About an hour before astronomical sunrise maybe 6:15am, got up and in the dark, bundled up with warm clothing, with headlamp hiked up to the frosty lake, set up my photo gear and tripod, then waited a bit for the dawn sky sequence towards the east to progress. The above shows the shoulder of Mt Tyndall, Mt Williamson, Trojan Pk, Mt Barnard, Mt Russell, and Mt Whitney, 4 of which rise above 14k and are all popular with peakbaggers. The original image is 6000 by 4000 pixels from my SEL1560 zoom on my A6000. The dawn crepuscular rays are the result of clouds far to the east blocking sections of the sun rays.

MoonL-KaweahPR.jpg

The above image (original 10100x4000 pixels pano stitch blend) shows the same lake early morning in the southwest direction with the impressive Kaweah Peaks Ridge in the background. I camped at and explored this Bighorn Plateau 3 days that is surrounded 360 degrees by impressive peaks, has many spectacular wind shaped foxtail pine trees, and beyond the lake was virtually devoid of human footprints though many bighorn sheep and deer footprints.

Raining at the moment down here in the San Jose area. And expect Tahoe peaks will get a good dusting of snow, a good sign for an early ski season
 
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