... and it continues like this, with cold and wind, but no real snow stormy weather. I have been waiting for a let-up in the storm cycles, to combine well with my tree work schedule; it looks like this may be the best I get.Tuesday: Increasing clouds and cold, with a high near 27. Wind chill values as low as -10. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wind chill values as low as -2. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast in the evening.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Wind chill values as low as zero. South southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Strangely, the "Full Weather Report" you get from the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center has a significantly different, and more severe forecast. I.e., it describes this weather for today and tomorrow:
Today (4/3):
Note, this is for the "mid-slope" area, it is more extreme on the "ridge tops."West 15 to 30 mph with gusts to 65 mph. Tonight, 4/3: Northwest 15 to 30 mph. Gusts up to 55 mph decreasing to 45 mph after midnight. Tomorrow, 4/4: Northwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph.
So, how to interpret that discrepancy? I really want to get in there and see all of this snow.
Badger Pass has brilliant viewpoints, and is safe and easy; Snow Creek Ski Hut may be open, and that would be a nice warm basecamp to explore from; Silver Lake off Hwy. 89 is open, and might be a nice new place to see; and Hwy 50 to Echo Summit is wide open? But no-- Badger Pass is closed for the year, and the hike up Snow Creek Trail could be a lot more challenging than usual. There are no fires allowed at Deso Wilderness, beyond Echo Lakes TH. I wonder what it would be like to car camp in the foothills of the Owens Valley, and day ski all around while staring up at the Eastern wall of the Sierra?
