Bridgeport Avalanche Center - Bidgeport, CA

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Spring Statement: The Bridgeport Avalanche Center

Spring Statement:

The Bridgeport Avalanche Center has closed its doors for the 2021-22 winter season. We will no longer be issuing Snowpack Summaries for the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area this season. We will resume issuing Snowpack Summaries and observations in Late Fall of 2022.

Thanks for a great season!

More details on bridgeportavalanchecenter.org
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This post is presented by @onxbackcountry
onX Backcountry is a GPS navigation and mapping tool designed with your backcountry objectives in mind, equipped with Avalanche Forecast and Slope Angle layers, Offline Maps and more.

Snowpack Observation, 4-13-2022 Sonora Pass Area

Snowpack Observation, 4-13-2022

Sonora Pass Area

The soft powder skiing that existed yesterday is unfortunately a thing of the past. The strong west winds have changed surfaces drastically since yesterday, with most surfaces in the alpine consisting of sastrugi or hollow-sounding hard slabs. These areas of fresh wind drifted snow were reactive, with obvious cracking present with every step on my splitboard. Any snow that was exposed to yesterday's strong April sun had a thin breakable sun crust during the morning hours. Throughout our tour we noticed how the high winds were actively transporting the new snow on near-by ridgetops. You can still find preserved soft snow in sheltered trees on shaded aspects.

More details on bridgeportavalanchecenter.org

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This post is presented by @onxbackcountry
onX Backcountry is a GPS navigation and mapping tool designed with your backcountry objectives in mind, equipped with Avalanche Forecast and Slope Angle layers, Offline Maps and more.
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Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area to Close on Apri

Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area to Close on April 12 for the Season

The Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest's Bridgeport Ranger District will officially closed for the season on Tuesday, April 12. This closure will remain in effect until the 2022-2023 winter season when the snow depth exceeds the minimum requirement of 24 inches, and a Forest Order is signed and posted as open for snowmobile use.

The Forest closure of the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area to motorized travel occurs every year at the end of April regardless of snow cover. The intent of this action is to reduce user conflicts as snow melts and the California State Route 108 corridor nears opening. This year, the area is closing around 2.5 week earlier due to current snow depth not meeting the 24-inch requirement.

Snowmobiling is currently still permitted on the north side of State Route 108 in non-wilderness areas of the Forest. United States Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center and Forest Service personnel may be present in the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area for administrative use and law enforcement patrols.

For additional information on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, please visit https://fs.usda.gov/htnf or participate in the conversation at https://twitter.com/HumboldtToiyabe and https://facebook.com/HumboldtToiyabeNF/.

Snowpack Observation - April 12th, 2022 It was ni

Snowpack Observation - April 12th, 2022

It was nice to see some new snow and not feel the underlying crust under our skis (for the most part). Today we went back to the Sonora Pass area to investigate storm totals and see how sensitive the newly formed wind slabs were.

At Sardine Meadows at 8700 ft, we measured 20 cm of new storm snow and at ridge-top, at 9800 ft we measured 35 cm of new snow.

Throughout our tour, we noticed how the new snow felt stiff and wind-affected most areas that we traveled except for west aspects that were stripped down to the crust. That being said, we only noticed some isolated cracking under-ski within this new snow. We also conducted multiple hand pits and found the new snow bonding well to the crust in this location. On a wind-loaded test slope with a small cornice, I was able to easily make it crack and release it with a light kick, which showed us that wind-loaded areas with cornices are reactive to a human trigger.

At our transition point at 9800 ft, I was able to look out at the neighboring peaks and I did observe a D1-sized wet loose avalanche above Leavitt Lake on an East aspect under a cliff in steep terrain. On our way out at about noon we noticed sun-exposed lower elevations started getting moist and gloppy under our skis, which was a clear sign of the warming snow.

More details on bridgeportavalanchecenter.org
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This post is presented by @onxbackcountry
onX Backcountry is a GPS navigation and mapping tool designed with your backcountry objectives in mind, equipped with Avalanche Forecast and Slope Angle layers, Offline Maps and more.

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