Divining the nature of mountain runoff
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Given that three-quarters of the annual water runoff in most states of the West comes from snow, people responsible for delivery of water to cities and farms have always wanted to get a firm bead on what to expect in any given winter.

A pairing of two new techniques is being tested in both the Sierra Nevada of California and in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

The traditional techniques were to use remote sensing stations and manual on-the-snow surveys, often conducted via snowshoes or cross-country skis.

One new technique, conducted by the Airborne Snow Observatory program, includes researchers flying over the mountains, taking spectrometer readings that measure the albedo, or reflectivity, of the snowpack. Sun rays hitting the snow have a much greater influence on snowmelt than air temperatures. Measuring the reflectivity of the snowpack will give researchers a more accurate idea of the timing of the melt, says Tom Painter, a scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“To be able to accurately forecast the timing of snowmelt, you need to be able to determine the albedo and how that is progressing,” he told the Sierra Sun.

Painter made a name for himself as a scientist in Colorado when, while climbing a 14,000-foot-peak near Aspen, he observed how much more rapidly snow smudged with dirt melted in the course of a spring day than relatively pure and gleaming-white snow. This led him to investigate the effect of dust on high-mountain snowpacks in the San Juans.

How important is the effect of dust on snow? It’s a big deal, according to the Colorado River Basin Supply and Demand Study. The study calls for suppression of dust in desert areas of the Southwest as a way to yield more water. Dust can much more rapidly cause snow to melt and also evaporate, resulting in less water reaching rivers and reservoirs.

In addition to the fly-over spectrometer readings, the Airborne Snow Observatory is using remote sensing technology called Lidar to gauge the depth of the snowpack.

Breck latest to add zip to offerings
BRECKENRIDGE – The operator of the Breckenridge ski area expects the new on-mountain summer amusements, including a zip line that will take customers 900 feet above ground, to significantly spike business.

The Summit Daily News reports that Vail Resorts, the owner of the ski area, expects the new summer attraction could draw 150,000 new visitors, nearly double the current number of visitors.

“This program is designed to be more than you can do in a day,” said Blaise Carrig, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division.

He told the Summit Daily that the activities collectively constitute “Epic Discovery” program which will also include: an additional 14 miles of mountain biking trails; a lookout tower platform; a challenge course including ropes, bridges and zip lines; a climbing wall, modeled on an iconic rock face elsewhere in Colorado; canopy tours.

Storylines will weave through the new on-mountain attractions, telling the story of the town of Breckenridge as well as presenting environmental information.

“We have a unique opportunity in Breckenridge to not only tell the environmental story, but integrate that with the cultural history and heritage of the town,” said Pat Campbell, chief operating officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort.

This is the second plan submitted to the Forest Service for summer time operations under the new federal legislation that permits broadened, non-skiing attractions at ski areas that operate on public  land. Previously legislation was unclear about permitted activities other than snow-sliding.

Vail expects to get the construction done in a year, beginning operations in summer 2015.

Park City loses local to Cottonwood slide
PARK CITY, Utah – Park City has lost a resident and well-respected avalanche expert to a slide last Friday. Craig Patterson, 34, was an avalanche forecaster for the Utah Department of Transportation, one of the people who tried to use his knowledge to keep travelers to Snowbird, Alta and other ski areas in the Cottonwood Canyons safe.

The accident occurred in Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon while Patterson was surveying snow levels near highways leading to a popular recreation area. Authorities believe he was doing everything right when the avalanche hit. “He wasn’t a rookie by any means; he was very experienced,” said Adam Carrillo, a Department of Transportation spokesman. “He was doing the work he loved.”


More conversation about helmet safety
WHISTLER, B.C. – In Whistler, the conversation continues about how well helmets might improve safety. One broad issue is whether people should be required to wear helmets when skiing or snowboarding, as is now the case in Nova Scotia.

Brian Leighton, the safety manager for Whistler Blackcomb, tells Pique Newsmagazine that the issue is “enough to give me a headache.” He notes that helmet use today on the mountain is about 80 percent, but even higher among some age groups. Among those 14 and under, it’s 96 percent.

Also at issue is the integrity of some helmets. Most ski and snowboard helmets are made with expanded polystyrene foam liners with a hard outer shell. The material in the liner deforms upon impact, absorbing the hit and reducing the transfer of energy to the head, explains Pique.
However, the liner does not return to its original state, leaving it less able to absorb a second impact.

Dr. Pat Bishop, a retired professor at the University of Waterloo who has researched helmets and their use, says the helmets are mostly doing their job. “If you’re wearing a helmet, your chance of survival is way higher than if you didn’t have a helmet on,” he told Pique. “They prevent those lethal focal head injuries (injuries localized to one region of the head, such as a skull fracture or a brain bleed.)”

However, they’re not full proof. Helmets designed for hockey seem to be much better, if also bigger, bulkier and more expensive. Bishop says that the standard adopted in 2009 by the Canadian Standards Association requires that hockey helmets be able to withstand three consecutive hits in the same location. Hockey helmets are also made with vinyl nitrile foam, aka or expanded polypropylene foam.

The ski company’s Leighton says that while helmets are seen as “a magic pill” in terms of safety, it shouldn’t be the only consideration. “It’s really the way that you behave out there that’ll make the difference,” he says.


Mine remediation goes on for 20 years
TELLURIDE – Telluride’s first career as a mining town overlapped by a few years with its career as a resort. The ski area opened 40 years ago this winter, and its last mine, Idarado, finally closed 35 years ago.

But even before it closed, the damages of hard-rock mining were evident, both along the San Miguel River in Telluride and in the Uncompahgre River above Ouray. The mine, which produced gold, silver and other metals, had portals on both sides, separated by 6 miles of interconnecting drifts and raises.

The Telluride Watch explains that the State of Colorado sued Idarado under the Superfund Act. A cleanup plan was agreed upon after a decade of negotiations, and the $20 million clean up was launched 20 years ago this spring.

While most of the work has been done, remediation in the area above Ouray continues, due to significant loading of zinc from mine tailings in Red Mountain Creek.

Vail keeps it all open to the wonderful end
VAIL – After a rough start to its 50th ski season, and memories of last year’s tough, tough snow conditions, Vail Mountain kept open virtually all of its terrain, some 4,600 acres, for closing day.

Usually, Blue Sky Basin, the giant addition added in the 1999 and 2000 ski seasons, closes a few weeks before closing day, when crowds begin to thin out. This year, however, the resort decided to keep the mountain open.

Locals say the skiing has been great, and snowfall totals are starting to rise. In Grand County, headwaters for the Colorado River, snowpack levels on April 1 were at 79 percent of average. On the same date last year, the snowpack was 58 percent of average. In 2002, it was 62 percent – although, in both years, hot winds of spring eviscerated the snowpack during April.

Of course, it could be a wet, snowy spring. Nobody seems to be counting on that. Instead, the greater prospect is of marginal rafting and a hot, dry summer.

Aspen drills down to search for heat
ASPEN – In its bid to secure more of its energy from local sources, Aspen has hired a driller to continue exploration of the underground to see if warm sources of rock can be found.

Miners used to favor certain mines, because of greater heat. With that in mind, the city in 2008 commissioned a study that estimated the temperature of underground water in Aspen at 90 to 140 degrees.

To test whether this is indeed the case, a driller plunged a hole two years ago, but it reached only 1,080 feet below the surface before work had to be suspended for winter, so as not to disrupt the commercial value of lodging in nearby properties. The new driller will use that same hole and go deeper, to 1,500 feet.

To get enough heat for buildings, rocks or water that are at least 100 degrees must be found. For electricity, it would take temperatures of 220 degrees.

Elected officials tell the Aspen Daily News that they’re skeptical the experiment will pay off. But if it does, the cost will be well rewarded. So far, the city has spent $179,000, although $50,000 of that came from a state grant.

– Allen Best. For more Mountain Town News, go to mountaintownnews.net