January 23, 2011, Camp Muir, rain and sun
1/23/11
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
6788
15
Arrived paradise in light rain, First blue sky at the top of Pan Point, it came and went up to about 8500 where it stayed mostly clear. Tough going in places with knobby boilerplate ice. The run down had some long continuous lines of dense smooth windpack and some of the worst ice chickenheads I have seen. Coming off Pan point we were back in mist and the snow turned to bottomless goo. Overall a great trip on a questionable weather day.
video here http://vimeo.com/19115307
video here http://vimeo.com/19115307
Great day to be up there. Here is another video - Peter carving icy turns.
http://vimeo.com/19115449
http://vimeo.com/19115449
Thanks for the report, glad you got above the clouds and into the sunshine. How strong were the winds at Camp Muir?
Just wondering if the forecast 30-40 mph winds actually happened, since the wind speed remains frozen on the NWAC telemetry.
Just wondering if the forecast 30-40 mph winds actually happened, since the wind speed remains frozen on the NWAC telemetry.
MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
515 AM PST SUN JAN 23 2011
.SYNOPSIS...MILD AND SOMEWHAT WET WEATHER WILL PREVAIL OVER THE AREA THROUGH MONDAY. THE SYSTEM ON MONDAY WILL BE STRONGER...THUS EXPECT A PERIOD OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION ON THE WEST FACING SLOPES. A WEAK COLD FRONT IS ANTICIPATED TO SWEEP ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY... THEREFORE LOOK FOR THE STEADY PRECIPITATION TO TAPER OFF TO SHOWERS BEHIND IT. DRIER WEATHER WILL PREVAIL OVER THE REGION ON TUESDAY UNDER HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT.
.TODAY...RAIN OR SNOW LIKELY. SNOW LEVEL 6500 FEET.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW. SNOW LEVEL 6500 FEET.
.MONDAY...RAIN OR SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES ON THE WEST FACING SLOPES. SNOW LEVEL 6500 FEET.
.MONDAY NIGHT...SHOWERS...DECREASING AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL LOWERING TO 4500 FEET.
.TUESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. A CHANCE OF MORNING SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 5500 FEET.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL RISING TO 8500 FEET.
TODAY TONIGHT MON MON TUE
NIGHT
SUMMIT (14411 FT) 13 10 4 9 5
NW 43 NW 26 W 51 NW 53 NW 32
CAMP MUIR(10188 FT) 25 24 21 21 27
NW 36 NW 29 W 43 NW 45 N 30
PARADISE (5420 FT) 39 30 37 26 35
W 4 SE 2 S 4 SW 7 SW 3
LONGMIRE (2700 FT) 42 34 42 30 39
CALM CALM CALM CALM CALM
Amar,
I can attest that the forecast on Saturday was correct. It was steady at 30mph with gusts to 50+. Still nice to be up there in January...
I can attest that the forecast on Saturday was correct. It was steady at 30mph with gusts to 50+. Still nice to be up there in January...
Sunday was different - totally calm at Muir.
Great photos, especially the second one. Are the ovals frozen footprints?
author=JibberD link=topic=19194.msg81464#msg81464 date=1295968711]
Great photos, especially the second one. Are the ovals frozen footprints?
Yes, you could see the alternating step patterns.
Could you shift that last photo to the right a bit? I would like to see the rime on the NWAC wind instruments. :)
author=Garth_Ferber link=topic=19194.msg81596#msg81596 date=1296057586">
Could you shift that last photo to the right a bit? I would like to see the rime on the NWAC wind instruments. :)
Here you go.. this was solid stuff, more like milky glass than styrofoam in texture. The vane was still moving, the anemometer is quite immobile.
Also a shot of windy conditions on the way up on Saturday.
Going down, the wind-speed matched skier-speed quite well. Made a fun visual effect, like skiing down on a soft undulating blanket in complete calm.
That second shot is really cool George.
author=Marcus link=topic=19194.msg81600#msg81600 date=1296062963]
That second shot is really cool George.
Ta! Snow plush flash give a funky effect.
Awesome! Ask and ye shall receive! I am planning to put together a talk on how to use and interpret NWAC weather instrument data for the next NSAS workshop. I have been trying to think of ways to get my hands on photos of why instruments sometimes don't work right. Can I use your photo?
What I will do next is post a request on TAY for such photos. The TAY skier army will be unleashed and soon I will have plenty.
By the way the NSAS is a public avalanche workshop that the Friends of the NWAC has been putting on in the fall.
Thanks, Garth
What I will do next is post a request on TAY for such photos. The TAY skier army will be unleashed and soon I will have plenty.
By the way the NSAS is a public avalanche workshop that the Friends of the NWAC has been putting on in the fall.
Thanks, Garth
author=Garth_Ferber link=topic=19194.msg81610#msg81610 date=1296073633]
Awesome! Ask and ye shall receive! I am planning to put together a talk on how to use and interpret NWAC weather instrument data for the next NSAS workshop. I have been trying to think of ways to get my hands on photos of why instruments sometimes don't work right. Can I use your photo?
Of course. Consider it in the public domain.
author=Amar Andalkar link=topic=19194.msg81396#msg81396 date=1295897607]
. . . since the wind speed remains frozen on the NWAC telemetry.
author=georg klein link=topic=19194.msg81599#msg81599 date=1296062212]
Here you go.. this was solid stuff, more like milky glass than styrofoam in texture. The vane was still moving, the anemometer is quite immobile.
Looks like the sunshine and 10000+ ft freezing level on late Tuesday into Wednesday finally unfroze the anemometer around 7am on January 26 -- after having been solidly frozen for 12 days:
Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center
Camp Muir, Mt Rainier National Park, Washington
Data also courtesy Mt Rainier National Park
Wind sensors unheated and may rime
MM/DD Hour Temp RH Wind Wind Wind Wind Solar
PST F % Min Avg Max Dir W/m2
10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 14 500 20 96 18 28 36 220 0
1 14 600 20 97 23 32 47 220 0
1 14 700 20 97 24 36 48 220 0
1 14 800 22 97 28 42 52 220 2
1 14 900 22 97 29 39 50 220 14
1 14 1000 22 97 18 30 39 220 34
1 14 1100 24 98 0 3 30 220 55
1 14 1200 24 98 0 0 0 220 134
1 14 1300 24 98 0 0 0 220 165
1 14 1400 23 98 0 0 0 220 238
1 14 1500 22 97 0 0 0 220 169
1 14 1600 19 97 0 0 0 220 76
1 14 1700 16 95 0 0 0 220 14
1 14 1800 16 95 0 0 0 220 0
1 14 1900 17 96 0 0 0 220 0
1 14 2000 15 95 0 0 0 220 0
1 14 2100 15 95 0 0 0 220 0
1 14 2200 16 95 0 0 0 220 0
1 14 2300 18 96 0 0 0 220 0
1 15 0 18 96 0 0 0 220 0
1 15 100 19 96 0 0 0 220 0
1 15 200 15 95 0 0 0 220 0
1 15 300 14 94 0 0 0 220 0
1 15 400 12 94 0 0 0 220 0
.
.
.
1 26 500 32 56 0 0 0 262 1
1 26 600 31 54 0 0 0 252 1
1 26 700 29 56 0 8 31 267 0
1 26 800 29 19 17 25 32 270 3
1 26 900 29 55 12 22 32 270 134
1 26 1000 26 73 10 20 31 288 179
1 26 1100 30 75 7 16 31 283 326
1 26 1200 31 74 3 23 39 256 502
1 26 1300 31 34 3 20 36 261 521
1 26 1400 31 18 16 25 44 252 430
1 26 1500 32 32 14 24 34 255 314
1 26 1600 32 41 8 20 31 256 201
1 26 1700 33 50 12 19 31 259 57
1 26 1800 34 39 11 18 32 262 1
1 26 1900 34 27 7 16 31 262 0
1 26 2000 34 17 8 17 26 260 0
1 26 2100 35 14 9 22 37 254 0
1 26 2200 34 18 8 17 28 259 0
1 26 2300 35 13 11 18 30 259 0
1 27 0 36 12 13 19 28 266 1
1 27 100 36 16 15 26 42 247 1
1 27 200 36 13 12 21 33 250 1
1 27 300 36 18 11 19 29 265 0
1 27 400 36 16 11 20 31 274 0
I do wonder if it is reading low, though, or at least was for that day after freed up. Like I said in my report, I bailed at Pan Point, so wasn't physically at Camp Muir or even on the snowfield. But based on the snow plumes I could see being wind transported off the edges of the snowfield near Moon Rocks, this slice of readings seemed at least 50% low:
1 27 1500 31 31 19 35 58 255 153
1 27 1400 31 55 28 38 55 254 281
1 27 1300 33 15 17 32 54 254 287
Today's readings have some nice beefy numbers, which might mean is more accurately recording. But probably also means that they will soon be iced all over again, as soon as there's moisture in the air.
1 27 1500 31 31 19 35 58 255 153
1 27 1400 31 55 28 38 55 254 281
1 27 1300 33 15 17 32 54 254 287
Today's readings have some nice beefy numbers, which might mean is more accurately recording. But probably also means that they will soon be iced all over again, as soon as there's moisture in the air.
Well, zooming in on the photo above, the solid rime ice is as high as the anemometer's rotor:
So even after the rotor melted free enough to start spinning, the ice would still substantially obstruct airflow onto the rotor. It would make sense that the readings might be low until the ice melted away enough for the rotor to get an unobstructed flow of wind.
The readings today have certainly reached healthy values of 80-90 mph:
MM/DD Hour Temp RH Wind Wind Wind Wind Solar
PST F % Min Avg Max Dir W/m2
10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 28 600 18 53 48 69 89 252 0
1 28 700 18 56 48 72 88 249 0
1 28 800 18 96 55 72 95 248 5
1 28 900 15 63 25 60 83 267 107
1 28 1000 15 36 43 58 79 272 283
1 28 1100 15 65 38 57 77 250 246
1 28 1200 15 94 33 62 83 244 236
1 28 1300 15 94 45 65 85 248 206
1 28 1400 15 94 42 60 79 260 170
So even after the rotor melted free enough to start spinning, the ice would still substantially obstruct airflow onto the rotor. It would make sense that the readings might be low until the ice melted away enough for the rotor to get an unobstructed flow of wind.
The readings today have certainly reached healthy values of 80-90 mph:
MM/DD Hour Temp RH Wind Wind Wind Wind Solar
PST F % Min Avg Max Dir W/m2
10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100' 10100'
---------------------------------------------------------------
1 28 600 18 53 48 69 89 252 0
1 28 700 18 56 48 72 88 249 0
1 28 800 18 96 55 72 95 248 5
1 28 900 15 63 25 60 83 267 107
1 28 1000 15 36 43 58 79 272 283
1 28 1100 15 65 38 57 77 250 246
1 28 1200 15 94 33 62 83 244 236
1 28 1300 15 94 45 65 85 248 206
1 28 1400 15 94 42 60 79 260 170
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