Monday, November 27, 2006

Sierra Snow is Here!

Traveling from the Tahoe area, California whitewater rafting is on my mind as the snow season has begun in the Sierras. Travel was sketchy yesterday as the summit was pounded by a great powdery snow. Lots of tourists were taken off guard as they vied for the chain monkeys to chain up the rental cars.

Ski resorts are up and running and our teen rafting staff is excited about snowboarding and skiing. I listen as they squirrel around arranging for rides and borrowing each others gear. Cell phone calls and myspace postings create a billboard of gear swap and ride announcements. Gloves and socks are always missing... buried under the gear weight of a summer season of rafting fun.

Will the rafting season be as intense as it has been the last two seasons? Watch for the snowpack as it rises with every storm. High water these past two rafting seasons was a mixed blessing of great water at times and too high of flows on some rivers. By this February, we should have a great idea of what's to come for flows on the rivers in California after evaluating the snowpack and weather patterns.

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