This avalanche advisory is provided through a partnership between the Tahoe National Forest and the Sierra Avalanche Center. This advisory covers the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Pass on the north and Ebbetts Pass on the south. Click here for a map of the forecast area. This advisory applies only to backcountry areas outside established ski area boundaries. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. This advisory expires 24 hours after the posted time unless otherwise noted. The information in this advisory is provided by the USDA Forest Service who is solely responsible for its content.

This advisory was posted on Saturday, December 2, 2006 at 3:22 pm

Our SAC Ski Day tickets are now available. This is an excellent opportunity for you to make a donation to SAC by purchasing a 1/2 price lift ticket that was donated to us by the ski area. All of the proceeds from your ticket purchase go to SAC and you get to go skiing. This year the tickets can be bought online thanks to Snowbomb.com (just click on the link above). Our first ski day is at Mt. Rose on December 17th. We hope to see you there.

Ridge top winds picked up overnight last night from the eastnortheast and scoured snow from many NE and E aspects in above treeline areas. Winds decreased a bit during the day today, but will remain eastnortheasterly through Sunday. Air temperatures are gradually warming, but an air temperature inversion remains that is keeping the mountain tops warmer than the valleys. High pressure will remain through the next several days with the next chance of snow arriving at the end of this week.

The current snowpack is highly variable with snow depths above 7,500' ranging from bare ground to nearly 3 feet deep. Snow surface conditions are highly variable as well, with melt-freeze crust forming today on S-SW-W aspects below 8,000'. All areas have been affected by wind, but a few pockets of nice sliding can be found above 8,500' on the more wind protected NW-N aspects. Deeper in the snowpack, faceted snow crystals have formed near crust layers on E-N-W aspects above 7,500' and have been observed both along the Sierra Crest and in the Mount Rose area. These poorly bonded snow crystals are potential failure layers for avalanche activity in the future. Buried surface hoar has also been observed 10-15cm (4-6") above the ground in several snow profiles on N-NE aspects above 9,000' in the Mount Rose area. This is an excellent time to get out and take a look at a variety of developmental stages of faceted snow crystals that can easily be found in most areas.

At this time, natural or human triggered avalanches are unlikely. The greatest hazards to backcountry travelers remains the lurking presence of shallow buried rocks, down trees, and stumps. Hitting these objects could cause you to fall onto similar hard objects and cause significant injury. If you want to get out and about, your best options are xc-skiing, xc oriented ski tours, snowmobiling on snow covered roads, or snowshoeing.

Brandon Schwartz , Avalanche Forecaster

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Central Sierra Weather Observations:
0600 temperature at Sierra Crest (8,700 feet): 23 deg. F
Max. temperature at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: 33 deg. F
Average wind direction at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: eastnortheasterly
Average wind speed at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: 45 mph
Maximum wind gust at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: 80 mph
New snow fall at 8,200 feet past 24 hours: 0 inches
Total snow depth at 8,200 feet: 11 inches

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mountain Weather Forecast For Sunday:
Mostly sunny skies.
Temperature forecast for 8,000 to 9,000 feet: 33 - 39 deg. F
Ridgetop winds forecast for the Sierra Crest: eastnortheasterly 25 - 35 mph G 50 mph
Snowfall expected in the next 24 hours: 0 inches

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Day Mountain Weather Forecast:
7000 to 8000 Feet
For Sunday, sunny skies with daytime highs 32 to 37 degrees F. Overnight lows 15 to 20 degrees F. under clear skies. Monday will be sunny with daytime highs 32 to 37 degrees.
Above 8000 Feet
For Sunday, sunny skies with daytime highs 33 to 39 degrees F. Overnight lows 23 to 28 degrees F. under clear skies. Monday will be sunny with daytime highs 33 to 39 degrees F. Light to moderate northwesterly ridgetop winds are expected on Monday.

The bottom line:

Andy Anderson - Avalanche Forecaster, Tahoe National Forest

Weather Observations from along the Sierra Crest between 8200 ft and 8800 ft:

0600 temperature:	deg. F.
Max. temperature in the last 24 hours:	deg. F.
Average wind direction during the last 24 hours:
Average wind speed during the last 24 hours:	mph
Maximum wind gust in the last 24 hours:	mph
New snowfall in the last 24 hours:	O inches
Total snow depth:	inches

Two-Day Mountain Weather Forecast - Produced in partnership with the Reno NWS

For 7000-8000 ft:
	Saturday:	Saturday Night:	Sunday:
Weather:
Temperatures:	deg. F.	deg. F.	deg. F.
Wind direction:
Wind speed:
Expected snowfall:	O in.	O in.	O in.
For 8000-9000 ft:
	Saturday:	Saturday Night:	Sunday:
Weather:
Temperatures:	deg. F.	deg. F.	deg. F.
Wind direction:
Wind speed:
Expected snowfall:	O in.	O in.	O in.