Photograph by Trinity Graham
After last year's record snowfall turned Lake Tahoe into a winter sport paradise, the expectations for this ski season could not have been higher. But with winter ending in less than a month, the amount of snow has been far closer to record-lows than record-highs.
Storms have largely missed the Lake Tahoe region. When they have hit, temperatures have often been too warm, resulting in rain at lower elevations and snow at higher ones. At Berkeley High School (BHS), many students enjoy winter sports and have been disappointed by the lack of snow.
Go Ahead Shred, a BHS ski and snowboard club created and enjoyed by winter sport enthusiasts, has taken just one trip up to the snow and were disappointed. While there was snow, temperatures were too warm to keep conditions ideal. When asked about the effects of the warm temperatures, Nicholas Lukan, a BIHS senior who is an employee at Squaw Valley, said “the snow heats up and melts during the day and then freezes overnight so it is essentially very icy. I wouldn’t even call it snow.” To see long term growth in the snowpack, temperatures will need to drop below freezing and stay there, not just during the night. The forecast is showing positive signs, with snow predicted for most of the end of February and into early March.
Throughout much of the winter, resorts have made snow to ensure they can maintain snow levels high enough to keep runs open. During the night, when temperatures dip below zero, the resorts artificially manufacture snow. In the spring, temperatures will likely to be too warm to make snow, so increasing the snowpack before then is crucial. Without this infrastructure the lack of natural snow would have disastrous effects on the resorts. But making snow isn’t going to keep our reservoirs full and cities drought free. According to a study by University of California Davis, the drought cost the state $2.7 billion in 2015. This is largely due to California’s large agriculture industry’s reliance on plentiful water for their crops.
Although it is clear that a dry winter in California would affect everyone, less snow in the Sierras will likely lead to a very different summer from last year where the Sierras stayed snowy for months into the summer and ski resorts Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley stayed open past July 4th. Unless conditions change, this summer will be one with hiking, biking, and no skiing.