Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[Jim]

Bookman's has a pool?

The NWS is pretty much now saying all rain below 8000' to 9000' (they don't really know) and it will last to the end of the week. I'm going to Tucson.


Snowbowl is reporting an 18 to 24 inch base and I bet that is a heavy snow. It will be interesting to see if they get snow or rain from the week's event. I could see it being rain up pretty high so the lower slopes are ruined, but then it could also be all snow for the resort which would be very good.

[azbackpackr]

Bookman's has a pool?

Sure, didn't you know? When they replaced the roof, they put a pool up there! ;)

What are you hiking in Tucson? Have you hiked Finger Rock Trail to Mt. Kimball? Easy access, and lots of elevation gain! Great view of the city from the top. I do not know if parking permits are required these days but last time I hiked it was only about 3 years ago, and no fee was required to park at the trailhead.

Get the Rainbow Expeditions/SAHC map of the Catalinas and also there is one for the Rincons, the Santa Ritas and the Chiricahuas, which are trail maps with the trails in red. Available at the Summit Hut. They are compilations of the topo maps, and very good for an intro start. Pete Cowgill and Eber Glendening's trail guide book to the Catalinas always was a good one, since it covers some off-trail routes. They were the founders of SAHC back in 1958.

[Jim]

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5735&p=64609#p64609

Might do Pusch peak and something in the Catalinas

[azbackpackr]

Yes, Pusch is a good one. A little route finding, quite steep, etc. Noisy, too. It literally hangs right over Oracle Road.

Incidentally, the line to buy books at Bookman's was at least an hour wait, with about 100 people in it, so I decided to put my books back and go there right when they open tomorrow. And the NAU pool was closed.

[chumley]

I don't think it will rain at Snowbowl. The base is at 9300 feet, so you might get some extra-heavy wet snow below 10k, but up high it should be pretty sweet. As long as the track keeps inching south.

[azbackpackr]

I think it is the best of both worlds. Snow for the ski slopes, rain down here where the trees and the aquifer can soak it up. Most snow evaporates, which is not the case with rain. Rain is better at sinking into the soil and watering the trees. We can have some snow later, but this slow soaking rain is great. Just looking at the USGS river data site, looks like nothing much is flashing up big, which is good. That means it is going into the ground.

[Jim]

Right now, I want neither, not with the piddly little amounts we are getting. I want the ridge we had last week to redevelop and kick out all of this coastal moisture we have. I feel like I'm in Maine or the Olympic Peninsula, not Arizona, and it is very irritating. It's just spiffy that California and other places that will actually see the moisture are getting all this rain, but we are getting nothing more than a fog. I can't stand it anymore!! This is the lousy weather I wanted to leave behind when I came out here! Seemed to me, in past years we got a storm that came on a trough and moved through pretty fast. We got snow or rain, so did other places, and in a day or two, it was back to dry and sunny skies. We have had gray clouds since Wednesday and we're going to until Friday.

[chumley]

The current forecast has a Winter Storm Watch for Wednesday and Thursday, with an initial call for 8-16" above 7500 feet. Its starting to look as though it just might snow enough for Snowbowl to open up for Christmas! (or maybe on the 26th...)

Meanwhile, I'll be in Boston, and there's a chance for a powerful Nor'easter, which if you enjoy a good storm, usually delivers some impressive results. Especially along the shore!

[azbackpackr]

if you enjoy a good storm

Only if I don't have to drive anywhere in it. I like to ski out my front door. Hate it when the plows come and mess up my skiing!

[PaleoRob]

Flooding along the Virgin River and in Kanab. Houses swept into the river at Littlefield (yes, it is in Arizona, about as far NW as you can get). Utah Rt 9 closed through Zion due to the road being washed away. US 89 closed east of Kanab at Johnson Canyon - water over the road and rising. We just snuck through before they closed it for the time being. More rain predicted through the night and tomorrow. Thursday the EBS in Kanab was calling for rain/snow, melting on Friday. I've never seen the rivers and creeks up here this crazy, and its only going to get worse. I'll be posting some pics later this evening.

[azbackpackr]

Yesterday I heard the Paria was up at its mouth, at the Ferry. "Don't get stuck on the wrong side of that bridge" was my friend's comment. I will have to check the river data this morning to see how high it is running now. Yesterday he said it went from about nothing to 1200.

Meanwhile, we have had no significant weather other than clouds and sprinkles--I am in Eagar for the holidays. I brought my skis and snowshoes. I wonder if I will get to use them here? I am glad I brought my hiking boots, too!

EDIT: Real time data shows Virgin River in Flood Stage, says data not accurate due to flood, says it is running over 70,000????!!! Holy toledo! It also says that any data above 10,000 is not accurate. I guess the gauge is flooded.

[PaleoRob]

Yeah, I'd easily believe 70kcfs - it looked massive and insane.

[chumley]

Snowbowl looks like they had an ice-storm ... they have to remove ice from the lift towers before they can operate.

They did receive 8-12" yesterday and hope that tonight's storm will allow them to announce an opening date.

In this photo I stole from their facebook page, they have cleaned ice off one pole, with the others still to go.

Looks like it was coming in straight horizontal!

[tibber]

Snowbowl looks like they had an ice-storm ... they have to remove ice from the lift towers before they can operate.

They did receive 8-12" yesterday and hope that tonight's storm will allow them to announce an opening date.

In this photo I stole from their facebook page, they have cleaned ice off one pole, with the others still to go.

Looks like it was coming in straight horizontal!

Thx for sharing. I'm not a skiier but now that I've been up there, your reports are more interesting.

[chumley]

I'm surprised Jim hasn't posted something. That sideways ice looks to be exactly his thing! I think he went to Tucson or something though. Here in chilly Connecticut, its 34. Mom and dad don't turn on the heat upstairs, so sleeping is refreshing.

[chumley]

Was just noticing that this icing event was not just a problem at Snowbowl. NWS reported it disabled one of their weather radio transmitters on Mt. Elden.

Geeky information and some more photos in the attached PDF.

[chumley]

Snowbowl is Opening Christmas Day!!!

11-15" overnight, and 32"-46" in the last week!

JimH you may now commence your snowshoe ascents!

[azbackpackr]

Oh, boy I guess that means my daughter will spend very little time here in Eagar, since she will want to go to Snowbowl on Sunday. (Sounds too crowded to me! Ugh!)

We got very little snow here in Eagar, mostly rain, but up on the mountain it was all snow, so I expect I could find a place to cross country ski right now, if I took the time.

[Jim]

Just got back from Tucson, do do do do looking up at the mountain....

[chumley]

So I'm sitting in my parents' Connecticut home enjoying the "holiday blizzard". Radar is showing snow from Georgia to the Canadian border north of Maine. Wind gusting upwards of 50mph. There are parts of the deck that have no snow at all, and others where it has piled into sizeable drifts. The windows are iced over with snow. The storm has a central pressure similar to a Category 3 hurricane, and doesn't look too dissimilar on the satellite photos. Forecasts still calling for up to 2 feet of snow.

I hate to say this, but I really miss these awesome northeast storms. And I will be so happy to get up tomorrow and shovel the driveway. A rare pleasure for me.

Actually I wish I had a place to stay in Manhattan tonight because there's really nothing quite as magical as cross-country skiing down streets and avenues after the city comes to a complete stand-still. For a couple of hours (before it starts to get cleaned up, sanded, salted, and traffic starts to muck things up), NYC after a huge storm rivals the beauty of any natural wonder I've ever seen. I know it makes no sense. Maybe its the reminder from Mother Nature how quickly she can take it all back?

Whatever...I love it!