2020 March Snow Survey

 At the end of February, a few of us gathered to do the Baker Creek snow survey. This has been happening since 1942, following Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, previously the Soil Survey) protocols. I've done it for quite a few years now.

Last year was a fantastic year, with about 170% of median. This year we knew we weren't going to find so much snow, as the biggest snow storm we had was at Thanksgiving, and then we didn't have much after that.

In fact, some of the spots were dry at the first snow survey site. Overall, it measured about 50% of median.

We use specialized snow survey tubes that measure the depth of the snow. Then we weigh the tubes and that gives us the snow water equivalent, or how much moisture is present. It's low-tech but has worked for so long. I'm very impressed with whomever originally engineered these tubes.

All four of us, from NPS, USFS, and BLM did the first site.

Three of us continued higher, finding the snow to be really sticky. We repeatedly had to get it off the bottom of our skis, as otherwise we were carrying so much weight.

It was beautiful, though! We found a little more snow at the higher sites, about 60-70%. Overall, Eastern Nevada was 65% of median.

 The trip back down took about double the amount of time as usual, and I fell so many times on the variable snow (although many times icy), that I eventually took off my skis and skins and post-holed down. It was definitely a workout.

You can find lots more about snow surveys at the NRCS Snow Survey website. I think there's more snow up there now, which is good! Another resource for looking at snow amounts in this area is the Wheeler Peak Snotel. In the last week, the snow depth has increased from 26 to 38 inches and is currently at 35 inches. That's better than the 24 inches at the end of February!