Hut Archives

Archived Logs to reminisce by:

2000-2004 Logs:

3/25/04 Wait!! Maybe it's not going to heck. This just in from a happy camper:
"You should'a been up last weekend!" Also, a group of six, including Howard and Art B., had too much fun in the corn below Horse Ridge and above Hart Lakes on Monday. Shirt sleeves and snow - a killer combination. There were four small slides off the Ridge on Monday and Tuesday, so it looks like care should be taken elsewhere in the backcountry. Two of us left Tuesday from the Hut at 8:30 am and had good, firm snow all the way to the flats below Horizon. Then snow/dirt down to the road. Looks like this is just about it for this year. Look for 120 to open on the East Side up to the Pass for some good skiing.
Bruce and Tom

3/24/04 This just in from some skiers out to Glacier Point:
A group of us went out to Glacier Pt yesterday (23rd)- late spring conditions, snow very soft, slow during the middle of the day as noted by the rangers. GPt road groomed to the Bridal Vail campground late Tuesday, large bare spot on the road before the Bridal Vail trailhead, lots of bare spots around the Clark range lookout and between Washburn and Glacier. Lots of duff on the road between Washburn and Glacier Pt. If no new snow over the weekend, end of season for the GPt trek. We'd suggest staying off the road and away from large trees. Enjoyed our visit to the hut in January.
Cheers,
Doug

3/23/04 Oh Woe! Hut is now closing, as originally scheduled, on April 5. Worse, HW reports skiing to be really bad at the moment. It's been so hot that the snow has been collapsing around rocks and has not been freezing at night. Cold front and light storm (though maybe as much as a foot) moving in Friday (3/26) may at least set things up. State meteorologist reports possible precip next week.

It's not all bleak, though. Check Tuolumne Conditions (above). Looks like they're getting some good skiing.

3/7/04 Corn! HW reports the west and south slopes are corning up in this tropical weather. Lots of snow boarders coming in on split boards.

3/2/04 Just talked to Kelsey. 50" new snow in the last week. Why are you sitting at your computer when you could be skiing? --gd

2/29/04 From some happy campers: Three days of great skiing. It snowed several feet the two days before we came in. There was about 8 - 12 inches of fresh powder on Horse Ridge and Buena Vista. The days and nights were cold so the snow was staying light and fluffy. When we left there were plenty of unskied bowls. Ski or Die!

2/16/04 A week of excellent skiing. Powder held in almost all areas after last week's storm. A bunch of snow boarders have been coming in on split boards and having a great time. The bad news is that it rained all day today up to at least the base of Heart Attack. So much for the powder. With luck, the snow line will drop with the current series of storms and excellent skiing will return.

Snow boarders: send me some photos and a paragraph or two and I'll post it.

1/26/04 Just came out on Sunday, Jan. 25th after 3 nights. Spring conditions exist; 3 Blue Bird days in a row. We skied classic Cali-Corn and managed to find an abundance of 3-week old, and unbelievably sweet, powder after an hour-long trek from the Hut (think East-facing slopes).

There's plenty of coverage, so any day after a nice dump should yield prime conditions.

The ski out was quite trecherous, with hard crust and icy conditions abound. Downhill tracks were scary fast; we prefered to stay in the crust and power, though (even found some powder on the East edge of Horizon).

I don't think anyone missed the Woodrat one bit.

Cheers!
B. Laird
The Hunter

1/18/04 Kelsey reports, alas, deteriorating conditions. A fairly solid crust has formed in most places. For things to improve, we need either fresh snow or very warm weather to melt some of the crust during the day.

12/18/03 HW left the Badger "A" frame this morning on his way into the Hut. He's hauling a propane heating unit with him to huddle around in the mornings (have to save wood. See below). There's about 20" of snow at 7,000 feet; maybe 25" at the Hut. Light snow predicted for this weekend and -- maybe -- a major system just after Christmas. Should be solid coverage all the way in!

11/8/03: Snow! Over a foot in the last week. This is reminiscent of the 70s, where early snows were more common. Howard and Dave Norris were up there last week stacking wood. The bad news is that only about 2/3 of the wood got in before it snowed (7 cords of wood has to be packed in by mule...). We're looking into a propane heater to use in the mornings — we've got extra propane this winter.

10/7/03: Eeeek. An entire season went by without updates. As noted elsewhere, I'll gird my loins and amp up! No foolin'. I'm on it! Watch this space. — gd

3/30/02 Well, boys & girls, I haven't done a very good job of updating you on the skiing this winter. In fact, I've basically been on sabbatical and Erin & Kelsey have been covering for HW on days off. BUT, just came out and the skiing is excellent! It's SPRING! Get on up for the last week or go over to the east side for a trip. Snow pack is normal, so skiing ought to last into mid-May or so. Hut closes on April 7. As another side note: I'm going to try having a pair of inner boots custom made for my T3s--something about heat forming them to your feet. I'll report back on how they work. $150 at Marmot Berkeley, but maybe worth it if it solves the blister problem... .

1/4/02 HW just called. Lots 'o snow and no one up there, so get going... . Solid coverage, though a moderate slide came off the "nose" opposite the hut, so be careful on the steep stuff. Last storm was pretty wet, but there's still heavy powder in the gullies.

12/31/01 Seems like it's been storming for a solid month! Good spring skiing is assured... . HW went in on the 18th to open and all is well. Mike M. in over Christmas and New Year's. You don't even have to worry about scratching those new Christmas skiis on rocks--they're buried for a change. Happy New Year all, see you up there soon!

11/26/01 The chimes at my house here at 4,000 feet are ringing happily as the first in a series of major storms moves in. State weather office is predicting 5" of water over the next 5 days--1 to 3 feet of snow. There may be a foot up there from the last storm. Things are looking good for so early in the season.

10/25/01 Gearing up for another season, campers. Food & wood in. Leaves dropping. Hopefully do we gaze skyward for the first swirls of snow.

4/20/01 Alas, we're closed. Ended the season with 2 more feet of snow, which was good
because the sun cups were already forming on a bad crust. On the dweeb front, I just got a
domain name: www.ostranderhut.com, so we'll be moving the site at some point in the
(unknown) future. There's still snow out there, so when the roads start opening up, get out for some spring skiing! See you next year. --George Durkee

3/23/01 Spring at last! Hurry on up. Corn is forming, though still a bit mushy this last week.
Streams are opening up. Shirt sleeve weather. Our last day is Sunday 4/8. HW in there now
and I'll go in to close the week of 4/4.

Another action photo of HW on his Bardini's:

3/12/01 Hmm, I keep getting behind here... . Got out of the Hut last week--25 of us
breaking in 2 - 3 feet of fresh powder & glop, took 5 hours to go 4 1/2 miles!! At the end, we weretaking 2 minute shifts breaking. Then off to an avalanche course in Kings Canyon NP.Howard's in there now, I go back on Saturday 3/17. Should be great skiing with a solid snow pack from the last storms. Looks like we've got some good weather, maybe through this weekend.

The bar was just raised for the 'feed the ranger' cookoff. The Friends of Ostrander once more outdid themselves with a sushi & fondue extravaganza--followed by strawberries dipped in 2 types of chocolate AND a chocolate mousse.... The glove has been thrown down, who dares pick it up?

We close on April 8th, so hurry on in for a free avalanche lesson.

2/10/01 Got out a few days ago. Skiing was great all week, then a few days of crust. Snow
beginning 2/9 dumped as much as 2 feet of powder (snow levels were down to 2,000 ft!).
More on the way through Monday. Even though the snow depth is 50% of normal, coverage is good--only a teensy rock or two lying in wait--and this storm should take care of that.

1/27/01 Sorry about the delay since last update, campers. Good news: lot's of snow with
last series of storms. Impossible breaking, but should settle out in the next couple of days.
HW is in there now, I'll be going in Wed. 1/31.

1/1/01 Hut's open and there's even snow, but a bit skimpy. Howard skied all the way out
last week, but it's unlikely that's still possible. Storm forecast for the coming weekend (1/6+); possibly even a shift in the Pacific High to start bringing some storms in. Other news: January 6th is the 60th anniversary of the Hut. Celebrating througout the season.

11/28/00 It's worth noting that the approximately 2 feet of snow that fell 3 weeks ago has
been sitting there unconsolidated and open to the sky in cold temperatures. This quite possibly means a very unstable base layer throughout the Sierra later in the season. If you're skiing early this year on steep stuff, it's probably worth digging a pit to see what's happened. I'll keep you updated. Mike Maciazek opens the Hut December 22. HW in the first week of
January and me around the 8th or so.

10/20/2000 Hiked into Hut to stack wood. Good news and bad news: We didn't get all the
wood in, but what we did get in was oak. It's since snowed too much to finish (all the wood is brought in by mules--about 5-8 trips of 20 mules each trip!!) We did get all the caches,
propane and Jon-ny Partner cans in. It's since snowed maybe 2 feet or more. We'll definitely have skiing by our opening date of December 20 (?--not sure of date...). --gd

2000 Log

2/15/00 Slogged out of the Hut in really unpleasant conditions--drenching
rain from the bottom of Heart Attack down; breaking in a foot and a half
of wet former powder. All is not bleak though. The next storm is colder
and it didn't rain at the Hut itself. A couple of feet in the last 5 days.The
skiing for a few days, though, was outstanding: a foot of powder on top of a
solid base. Also: just got a note from a skier who's buddy backed out. He's
looking for a partner: "looking for someone to go up to the Hut with for
two nights next weekend (2/18 & 19) - ~ full moon, good snow
etc....contact: jim tepperman, jmtepp@uclink4.berkeley.edu"

2/1/00 Hey, good snow at last! Came out yesterday on some pretty nice (though
deep) powder. Did the snow survey on Saturday 1/29 and averaged 60" with
28% density--that's pretty wet & solid stuff. Usual density for this time of year is
around 15%. Got almost another foot on Sunday. Road is now being groomed
regularly. Ice skating is officially finished for the season

1/25/00 HW checks in again: 43" +. Deep stuff and very difficult breaking at the
moment. Good coverage at last, though. Howard and a large group are coming
out Horizon 1/26 and I'm going in that way. That'll be the best way to go, at least
for the next few days. Road is rolled and Badger opens this weekend. More news
as it occurs. PS: for SF Bay Area people, check the KRON Backroads TV show
listing. They're filming HW tomorrow. Don't know when it'll be on.

1/24/00 Badger now reports 10" as of yesterday and they say it'll open this
Friday. Machine went out Glacier Point road to groom it. This storm is colder, so
snow seems to be staying well below hut. Howard just said skiing was awful last
week--people were walking in; lots of boulders still exposed. This storm should
take care of it.

1/21/2000 Looking pretty good. Just checking the snow pillow below the Hut, it's
added 5 inches of water since the beginning of this series of storms (1/15 or so).
Hard to tell how much snow since I left, but I think it's pretty solid up there (temp.
has stayed below 32F, though just barely...)--should be 2 more feet since 1/18.
With luck I'll talk to HW in the next couple of days and get an update. Badger (at
7,200) has been below (!) most of the snow and looks pretty bad, but there
should be enough on the road to ski. -gd

1/18/2000 Good news, campers. Our prayers have been heard. We've got snow.
Two feet fell between 1/15 and 1/17. It was pretty wet towards the end and so
set up a pretty solid base layer. The bad news is that the snow line (as of the last 2
days) is pretty darn close to the Hut--the base of Heart Attack when I left on
Monday, but seems to be holding there. Still, you can ski all the way in (maybe
taking off skis for brush a couple of time on the flats above the road on the
Horizon route). Badger looks pretty bleak--it only got maybe 8 inches the last few
days, so don't let that discourage you. There's still a lot of boulders around and
some of the bowls won't really be skiable without another 2 feet (which could
happen this week) but at least there's some good skiing around. HW in there now.

1/5/2000 I'll be going in 1/12. HW up there now. --gd
There are more rumors of snow by 1/13+: "MRF model shows deepening trof
near 135W early next week with jet and storm track dropping south into Cal by
Tue with gusty south to southeast surface winds. Precip and lowering snow levels
work southward into Central and Southern Cal by Thu/Fri (13-14 Jan).
Remember that the MRF model is the only one which goes out past 6 days.
Confidence in this wet pattern will increase as each day confirms this pattern
change. This is only the second day that this pattern shows up for Cal, and this is
the first model run which shows some precip reaching the Southland. We remain
cautious as we were yesterday." --William A. Mork, State Climatologist/Senior
Meteorologist.