Winter begins as we drift away from the sun
As solar flux dissipates and the earth tilts away from the sun in the northern hemisphere on our annual trip around the sun, winter returns to Mount Washington! The summit temperatures have been below freezing for over a week and the rock pile has received at least a little bit of snow on 9 of the past 11 days. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not quite ready to pull out the ice tools and boards, but early winter has certainly arrived. Hermit Lake has frozen over already and the Tuckerman Headwall already has an impressive amount of ice development. However, we are in that time of the year when warm days are still inevitable so expect falling ice to be the dominate hazard until full winter arrives. Yesterday while at Hermit Lake I heard icefall crashes in the Ravine so it is clearly happening. Most of the largest ice has grown on the northern half of the Ravine surrounding the summer hiking trail.
As we move into November keep an eye on the summit weather and new snow amounts. (We’ll do the same and will begin issuing avalanche advisories when warranted.) Give any alpine hikes into, and through, the gulfs and ravines of our White Mountains some winter respect. Think about how early winter has effected them and what hazards you may face in regards to cold conditions, icefall, slick surfaces under foot and remember to bring along the tools that will help you-microspikes, crampons and perhaps an ax very soon.
Refresh your avalanche knowledge and skills. Of course assure your rescue techniques and equipment are up to snuff, but focus on learning what will keep you out of the avalanche to begin with, i.e. stability assessments, safe travel skills, and anticipating avalanche problems based on weather. Sign up for an avalanche class and consider attending the Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop on November 9th in North Conway. See the Agenda below or go to www.esaw.org
As the snow picks up you’ll start hearing from us more often. Let’s hope for a good winter but assure we act safely in it-that we can control! Chris
3nd Annual Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop-ESAW2013
North Conway, New Hampshire 11/09/2013
0730 – 0815 Registration
0815 – 0830 Welcome, Introduction and Housekeeping – Kyle Tyler and Chris Joosen
0830 – 0915 Avoiding Avalanches Through Quality Weather Observations in the Field
Rebecca E. Scholand, Mount Washington Observatory
0915 – 1000 Winter Use in Baxter State Park
Ben Woodard Chief Ranger, Baxter Maine State Park and Bob Baribeau, Mahoosuc SAR
1000 – 1015 Break -1015 Raffle
1015 – 1100 Human Behavior at the Ski Area Boundary
Doug Richmond, Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol Director
1100 – 1200 Short Sessions
Chic-Chocs Avalanche Bulletin: Behind the Scenes
Julie LeBlanc, Haute Gaspesie Avalanche Center 15 min
Update on Eastern Man-Made Snow Avalanches
Roger Damon, Army Colonel , Engineer, NSP Patrol Director, Pilot, Retired 15min
AvaTech-Changing the Game in Proactive Avalanche Safety
Brint Markle, AvaTech 30 min
1200 – 1300 Lunch -1300 Raffle
1300 – 1345 The Two Stages of Wet Snow; the Basic Physics and Why We Care
Sam Colbeck, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (Retired)
1345 – 1430 Uncertainty in Avalanche Decision Making
Dale Atkins, Recco and American Avalanche Association President
1430 – 1445 Break – 1445 Raffle
1445 – 1530 Using “Avalanche Problem” Descriptors to Communicate Risk
Tim Brown, American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education
1530 – 1630 Short Sessions
Meteorological Variability on Mt Washington-Theoretical and Practical Applications
Jeff Lane, USFS Mount Washington AC and Cyrena Briedé Mount Washington OBS
Recco Avalanche Rescue System
Dale Atkins, Recco and American Avalanche Association President 15 min
Bridger Bowl Avalanche Program and Operations
Doug Richmond, Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol Director 30min
1630 Closing remarks and move to Social and Avalanche Vendor Booths Upstairs at IME
