Skiing for Data: Snow Surveys in Great Basin National Park Since 1941

First published in The Midden, the Great Basin National Park newsletter, Vol. 22, No. 1, Summer 2022. By Gretchen Baker, ecologist, and Meg Horner, biologist.

Weighing a snow tube at a snow course marker to find the snow water equivalent — the moisture in the snow. NPS photo, Gretchen Baker.

One of the park's oldest records

The Baker Creek Snow Survey, with three snow courses in the Baker Creek watershed, is one of Great Basin National Park's oldest datasets. Since 1941, the snow has been measured in late February and late March every year — and in some years in late January and late April too. The data are managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Changing faces

• 2001: when ecologist Gretchen Baker arrived, the survey was run by two NRCS employees, including Curt Leet, helped by Rob Ewing of park law enforcement and volunteers Jeff Woodruff and John Woodyard. The stories made it sound hard. In the 300% snowpack of 2005, the crew was dropped by helicopter high in the Baker watershed so they could ski downhill rather than break trail uphill through the deep snow — which sounded great, but beyond her beginner cross-country skiing.
• Around 2010: law-enforcement staff changed, and Jacob Wahler — who had never been cross-country skiing — was sent along. He survived, so she tried it in 2011. With skins for extra grip, it was hard but doable, and fun.
• Later: when Wahler left and no other law-enforcement staff wanted the job, resource management stepped in, especially Meg Horner and Ben Roberts. NRCS staff retired or moved; a few years on, Nicole Bolton joined the NRCS in Ely, quickly learned to ski, and started helping.

The route

If the crew can reach the trailhead by car or UTV, the survey takes about 8 hours; otherwise it's a day of 10 hours or more. Deep snowpack with fresh snow makes it easiest. In thin years they have to take their skis off again and again to get around obstacles.

How a snow course works

At each course, the crew:

1. assembles the three snow tubes;
2. measures out the distance to each of five sampling spots;
3. drives a tube down into the snow;
4. reads the snow depth and the length of the snow core in the tube;
5. weighs the tube with its snow to get the snow water equivalent (SWE) — how deep the water would be if all the snow melted.

Thanks

Over the past 15 years, the surveyors have included Gretchen Baker, Joanie Bernardi, Nicole Bolton, Chandra Conrad, Joey Danielson, Meg Horner, Nancy Herms, Bryan Hamilton, Jenny Johnson, Curt Leet, Julie Long, Greg Moore, Mark Pepper, Ben Roberts, Brooke Safford, Peter Super, Andrea Wagner, Jacob Wahler, Jeff Woodruff, Liz Woolsey and John Woodyard.

Learn more: the online snow survey training covers the science of snow surveys and staying safe in the winter backcountry. Previous in this issue: mountain lions are keystone species.

Sources

Based on "Changing Faces: A Recent History of Snow Surveys in GRBA," by Gretchen Baker and Meg Horner, The Midden — Great Basin National Park, Vol. 22, No. 1, Summer 2022, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.