2014/15 Alpine Snow Conditions Rockin' M Ranch

I will do my best to give snow reports from the Rockin' M this season plus snowtel sites and any reports I may have heard. Anyone who has ridden the area lately or has something to add, please chime in.
Thanks, Rob

November 15, 2014
Great storm over the last couple of days. A few of my friends hunting up around the Box Y reported knee deep snow at about 7500-8000 feet. About 4-5 inches of wet crusted snow on the Valley floor here in Alpine and around the cabins
Snotels sites are :
Blind bull (Wyoming Range, Greys River) 21"
Spring Creek (Commissary Ridge, Afton End) 19"
Triple Peak (Wyoming Range) 23"

Grand Targhee Ski Resort 21" New 49" Base
Jackson Hole Resort 23" New 31" Base

We received about 5 inches in the Valley form the storm over the weekend. It appears that most of the high country got another foot or so. It is snowing again today.

November 26, 2014
Over one foot new here at the cabins from this last storm, 18" on the level. Snowtel sites are 30-45" in the mountains. 37" in 5 days at Targhee resort, 21" new at Jackson Hole. Great start to the winter. Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 30, 2014
This last storm over the weekend was a little to warm for any accumulation in the Valley. Up high it looks like 6-10 inches of new. Blind Bull is now 40" and the South End (Spring Creek) is 38". Chance for snow every day this week.

December 1st, 2014
A few more inches in the Valley today. I am hoping to get up high before the weekend.

December 4, 2014 (Thursday)
It has been a rain and snow mix on and off in the Valley since Monday. The snow level has been about 6000 early in the week and closer to 7000 today. The Valley has been turned to 6-8 inches of slush on the level. The high country continues to get an inch or two a day of wet heavy snow. The snotel sites are going up in water content yet the snow depth is staying about the same (about 40"). I talked to a friend who was up on squaw recently. He claimed there is about 3-4 feet with a very solid base, only sinking in about a foot. Targhee resort is showing 12"since Monday. Cindy reported a 34" base at the Box Y lodge today.

Rode up Squaw Today

December 15, 2014
There wasn't much to report since my last report on the 4th. Last weeks temperatures were in the upper 30's 3-4 hours each day and a couple days were in the low 40's. Luckily it didn't take too much snow. A few of the southern slopes down low bared off along with a few tree wells. The valley is still mostly white and there is about 3-6 inches of crusty hard snow at the surface. Friday night through Saturday night the snow level was over 7500 and dropped to the Valley floor Sunday morning and continued to snow until Sunday afternoon. We picked up 2-3 inches in the Alpine area. Currently snowtel sites are blindbull 36", spring creek 34", and willow creek 27". The snowpack for the Snake River Drainage is 116% snow water equivelant and 98% total precipitation. I rode up to the top of the Squaw Creek trail today. The Greys River trail along the river has 1 to 1 1/2 feet of snow on the edges of the trail. The trail is rock hard with some new snow for lubrication. I didn't have to run my scratchers but it helped. Snow gets deeper quick as you climb up squaw. My intension was to take several measurements, but the snow was so hard I had a tough time getting my tape measure to the bottom. One spot I checked towards the top was 32". It was also a little tough to tell what was new from this last storm. There was 6-12" inches of softer snow on top of the harder base. The groomer was also grooming the squaw trail today. In all 32 inches may not sound like much, but the coverage is really good for this time of the year. Most of the downed trees and rocks have a good thick layer covering them, your sled is riding in the top of the snowpack. I was riding alone today so I didn't push into the upper bowls, but the snow was getting softer as I was getting higher. I have to believe the upper bowls of squaw and Murphy have to be pretty good. Many years we don't have a base like this until late January. The riding is decent for this time of the year. One good dump on this base could take it to excellent real quick. Here are a few pictures. They are not great due to me being alone.

A few pictures from today.

I'm always nervous to make comments about avalanche conditions for I don't want to share in anybody's fate. That being said, I attended my annual Forest Service avy class last Wednesday taught by the guys who produce the Bridger Teton Avalanche report. They report that so far the Snake River region snowpack is relatively stable compared to some of our past years. Some unstable deep faceted snow at the very highest elevations on North facing slopes from early October snows, otherwise, so far the snowpack is looking really good. That can change quickly, check the reports before riding.

December 19, 2014
A few small skiffs of snow this week in the Valley. Some of the mountains may have faired better. This is from the National Weather Service. I will post after this storm

Effective: 02:56 MST on 12-19-2014
Expires: 08:00 MST on 12-22-2014

Event: Winter Storm Watch
Alert: ...SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND...

.A MOIST PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST
THIS WEEKEND...SPREADING SNOWFALL ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND
VALLEYS. SNOWFALL MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY SUNDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS SYSTEM MAY BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL
ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS BEFORE
WEAKENING MONDAY MORNING.

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH
MONDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RIVERTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH
MONDAY MORNING.

* SUMMARY AND TIMING...SNOWFALL WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN WYOMING
SATURDAY EVENING...AND MAY BECOME HEAVY ON SUNDAY ACROSS THE
AREA BEFORE WEAKENING ON MONDAY MORNING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...THE VALLEY LOCATIONS MAY SEE 5 TO 10 INCHES
OF SNOWFALL WITH THIS SYSTEM WITH THE HIGHER ACCUMULATIONS
EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE JACKSON VALLEY.
MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS COULD SEE 12 TO 16 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY
HIGHER AMOUNTS TO 24 INCHES.

* WIND AND VISIBILITY...WIND WILL BE STRONGEST OVER THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS...AND MAY IMPACT MOUNTAIN PASSES WITH WEST WIND OF 25
TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. EVEN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL
SEE SOUTHWEST WIND INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH ON SUNDAY WITH
GUSTS TO 35 MPH IN OPEN AREAS. THE WIND AND SNOWFALL WILL LIMIT
THE VISIBILITY TO UNDER ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES.

* IMPACTS...THE COMBINATION OF SNOWFALL AND WIND OVER THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS WOULD HAVE AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON TRAVELERS ACROSS THE
AREA. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE VALLEYS WILL CREATE
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS DUE TO SNOW PACKED ROADWAYS.

Instructions: REMEMBER...A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS PROVIDED BY THE WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ARE AVAILABLE BY CALLING 5-1-1 OR ON THE INTERNET AT WYOROAD.INFO.
Target Area:
Jackson Hole
Salt River and Wyoming Ranges
Star Valley
Teton and Gros Ventre Mountains
Yellowstone National Park

December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014
We woke up to 4" of very wet heavy snow here at the cabins on Sunday. It then turned to rain/snow mix at the valley floor for the remainder of the day. The snow level appeared to be 6500-7500 feet. At this time the snotel website is down so it is a little hard to tell exactly what the high country received from this last storm. Jackson hole resort is claiming over 2 feet from the last week and Targhee is showing 16" as a storm total. I will report when I here from some of my renters who make it up high.

December 23, 2014

December 23, 2014
The Snotel website is back up. More new snow than I thought , 18-24". Blind Bull is now 50", Spring Creek 52" and Willow is 40". Should be awesome up high. Temps in the valley now staying under freezing during the day. Forecast for snow tomorrow night and Christmas day.

December 25, 2014

December 25, 2014
Merry Christmas!! 8 inches here at the Rockin' M in the last 24 hours. I had renters riding two different areas west of the cabins on the Idaho side. Two feet of soft snow on top of a 2-3 foot base. Great riding for late December.