January Conditions in the High Sierras

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Winter in the Sierras is a special time, presenting the beauties of the Sierras all dressed up as a Winter Wonderland.

Frozen Aspens make a spectacular display of ice and snow

I just returned from a backpacking trip within the Meiss Country Roadless Area in the Southeast corner of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The trip spanned between January 4th thru the 8th. I covered roughly 12 miles. The elevations I covered spanned between 6700 and 8000 feet.

I planned on covering 29 miles, but the snow conditions combined with stomach problems to truncate the distance.

Looking West across Christmas Valley at the Tahoe Rim just South of Echo Summit

The series of storms that preceeded this trip left a deep layer of powder snow on the Sierra Crest. Various stations at similar altitudes measured snow depth between 60 and 90 inches.

This deep powder was very unlike the "Sierra Cement" typical of the wet snows which the Sierras generally experience. The powder was light and delicate, making travel very difficult.

I waited until the storms cleared out before I began this trip, though I knew the clear conditions that followed would usher in some cold temps. I was not dissapointed. Without cloud cover the land and air quickly lost its heat every evening.

The cold temps were also preserving this rare powder snow perfectly in shaded clefts of the River Valley I was ascending, the Eastern branch of the South Upper Truckee River. I was able to observe a slow process of snow consolidation in exposed areas over the four nights I was hiking, though this consolidation did not   noticably improve travel conditions.

Generally I expect snow to consolidate to an easily passable "base" two days after the storm that deposited it passes.

The weather was clear, cold and sunny during the days, and very cold at night. Temps ranged from 41 degrees during the day, to 6 degrees during the nights, as measured at sunrise and sunset. The coldest point of the evenings seemed to be around 2 or 3 am, though I did not venture out to take a reading.