Snow in Mt Thielsen area?

[Charley]

Does any body have any snow updates from the Mt Thielsen area, or even Southern Oregon in general? I'm interested in doing some climbing up above the PCT near Diamond Lake, and would like to have non-snow conditions. My dates are July 12-13
Thanks!
Charley

[VanMarmot]

Does any body have any snow updates from the Mt Thielsen area, or even Southern Oregon in general? I'm interested in doing some climbing up above the PCT near Diamond Lake, and would like to have non-snow conditions. My dates are July 12-13
Thanks!
Charley

Things are melting pretty fast down here - not much left below 5000 feet. But, given what we got this winter, you're likely to encounter large patches of snow on the PCT and above into July in the Thielsen area. It was like that last year. However, getting past the snow wasn't too difficult. If you want no snow, then go later in July or August.

See trip report.

[Charley]

Thank you! I'm trying to figure out if I can either scramble Holly's Ridge and Howlock Mountain. . . or ski Mt Bachelor that week. Either would be acceptable, but I think that I'm in the perfect window of opportunity during which neither is practical. Bummer.

[weekend_warrior]

PCT looks to be fully under snow. image date 6/29/17:

[Webfoot]

As others have already asked in other threads where are you getting these recent images with respectable resolution?

[VanMarmot]

As others have already asked in other threads where are you getting these recent images with respectable resolution?

I'd be curious to know more about this image too, since it seems to greatly overstate the snow cover I can see from the ground. It also doesn't seem to agree with any of the SNOTELs or the NOHRSC SWE forecast.

[weekend_warrior]

As others have already asked in other threads where are you getting these recent images with respectable resolution?

I knew I would get a lot of questions about the imagery. It's from an (expensive) subscription service I have through my employer. I actually might be violating the terms of use by posting pictures here, I should look into that...

@VanMarmot: the image is 100% real, 3m satellite imagery from the date I listed. Interesting to hear that it doesn't correspond to boots on the ground. The NOHRSC maps are great, but they are modeled values, so not all that accurate, especially this time of year. Which SNOTEL sites are you referring to? The image shows solid snow cover along the PCT, or roughly 7000' in that area.

[Don Nelsen]

Here is a photo that shows Thielsen taken on June 30th during an Oregon State Police investigation of an accident. Hard to say looking at the snow from this angle but I'd say it pretty much agrees with the satellite pic. (Stay safe out there folks!)

[Charley]

I knew I would get a lot of questions about the imagery. It's from an (expensive) subscription service I have through my employer. I actually might be violating the terms of use by posting pictures here, I should look into that...

I wonder if I could the Symphony to pay for that for me... probably not

Thanks for all of everyone's help! I think we are going to take ice axes (etc.) and give it the old college try.

[VanMarmot]

@VanMarmot: the image is 100% real, 3m satellite imagery from the date I listed. Interesting to hear that it doesn't correspond to boots on the ground. The NOHRSC maps are great, but they are modeled values, so not all that accurate, especially this time of year. Which SNOTEL sites are you referring to? The image shows solid snow cover along the PCT, or roughly 7000' in that area.

I was using the river forecast SNOTEL sites and should have realized they're all below 6,000'. Didn't mean to imply the image wasn't real - just trying to better understand it and its provenance. To me, this overhead imagery made it look as though the whole area is still covered in a solid blanket of snow. Portions of the PCT in this area are still snow covered where they go above 6,000' - it was that way last year well into July - but even then it's still patchy depending on aspect, tree cover, insolation, etc. The area around Thielsen is particularly tricky in this respect. So, my original post here (should probably have stopped with that) still holds - Charley will have to deal with snow if he goes to Thielsen in mid-July.