[Rockhounds] Idaho metamorphic trip and glaciers

[Tim Fisher]

Lanny, long ago I decided that the list has SAD:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

I do occasionally steal snowpack data so I have a few sites 
bookmarked. The closest SNOTEL sites are Sherwin & Lost Lake:
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/ID/snow/siteinfo/idaho_data_site_map.pdf

Here's the current chart for Sherwin:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/wygraph.pl?stationidname=16C01S-SHERWIN&state=ID

And Lost Lake:
ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/id_swepctnormal.pdf

Looks like snowpack is a bit above average but the snow water 
equivalent is sticking to the average like glue. The Clearwater as a 
whole is 122% of average SWE. In other words a whole bunch o' powder 
lol. The ski bunnies at Schweitzer must be in heaven :)

Interestingly, NW Oregon is kicking Idaho's butt for once; the 
Willamette basin is at 199% of average SWE today. Classic La Nina 
conditions for us, but not so much for you guys. I get the La Nina 
updates and the latest has half the long range models predicting that 
the current strong La Nina will last through at least Sept 2008. 
That's the strongest I have seen in the historical record that I deal 
with which goes back into the 1960s. Translation: Greater than 
average precip and lower than average temp for the Pacific NW through 
Sept. Global warming? How about Little Ice Age II? (yeah I know a 
short term oscillation does not a trend make. It's a nice fantasy though)

Completely unrelated, we caught a bit of the Little Ice Age show on 
the History channel last night. Fascinating stuff. The most 
interesting quotes were a "global warming camp" researcher firmly 
pinning the end of the LIA to industrialization, vs. another 
researcher (who didn't appear to be a non-believer in GW) stating 
that we can never know if it was a short term oscillation (I love how 
4-500 years is short term to climate researchers lol) or was a long 
term trend that was broken by industrialization. Confirms the 
mindsets of the two camps haven't changed a bit, which saddens me a 
little. Perhaps our faulty science education system in this country 
extends to the colleges as well. If I pinned long term declines in 
Pac NW salmon abundance to industrialization, farming, ranching, 
dams, etc., to the exclusion of all else, in a published paper, I 
would have my head handed to me on a platter. With garnish & sides :D

At 09:36 AM 2/10/2008, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Here I sit indoors looking out at the mounds of snow and the rough
>white strip in front of the house that is supposed to be a street and
>can't help but wonder when the snow will be off the St.Joe-Clearwater
>divide so we can make the planned field trip into the metamorphics of
>northern Idaho. Maybe it won't be until August.
>
>Difficult to say though. Whereas we have over 200% of the average
>snowfall of 60 inches in Coeur d'Alene this winter, they say the high
>mountains have only 109% of average. Northern Idaho and Eastern
>Washington have been a mess with a lot of the snow coming down in the
>past two weeks making roads and highways a challenge to drive. A lot
>of highways have been closed the past few days because of drifting
>snow. It's finally thawing some, so maybe the end of the snowfall is
>getting near.
>
>John and Julie, how are you doing in Santa? Buried?
>
>On average winters the snow is usually cleared off the divide by July,
>but if spring and summer are cool, there are sometimes a few snowbanks
>blocking roads until September.
>
>Just thought I would ramble a little this morning, the list is nearly
>asleep. Keep the field trip in mind, perhaps the thought of searching
>for those garnets, kyanite and staurolite crystals will help spring
>and summer get here sooner.
>
>Regards,
>
>Lanny

Tim Fisher
Ore-ROCK-On!
Email address at http://OreRockOn.com