weather

Winter Weather, Crowds, Rescues, Missing Hikers, Lambs

Posted - Charles Miles

Winter Weather! The entire mountain was winter wonderland at one point and weather has certainly been in the news – Rain falling in Tucson; hard freezes to follow – Arizona Daily Star, Brrr-inging in the new year in Southern Arizona – Arizona Daily Star – (A few good snow photos from the mountain), A wet and white New Year’s coming to the desert – Jeff Beamish – KVOA.com.

Ski Valley opens all of it’s runs! Last year Ski Valley did not open any runs for the first time in 50 years. Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley open; traffic restricted – Doug Kreutz – Arizona Daily Star.

Winter weather has caused restrictions on the highway to come and go over the past week. The winter weather + holiday weekend has also combined to produce big enough crowds on the mountain that – at times – the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has stopped traffic at the base and only allowed a car up the mountain when one comes down. On Saturday at 4pm, while coming back from the Milagrosa area, I  drove past a line of cars waiting to go up the mountain that stretched back nearly to Houghton! Mt. Lemmon Highway now open after Wednesday road restriction – Tucson News Now, Sheriff briefly limits access to Catalina Highway, weekend crowds expected – John Ames – Tucson News Now, Mt. Lemmon Highway closed due to overcrowding – Arizona Daily Star.

Sledding proves to be dangerous on Mt. Lemmon – Christina Myers – KGUN9: Stay safe while sledding! The article says that “two kids had to be taken to the hospital on Thursday after hitting objects that were sticking out of the snow”.

Hikers planning on hiking from Sabino Canyon to the top of the mountain call for help and are rescued. Three hikers rescued from Mt. Lemmon – Rikki Mitchell – KGUN9, 3 Mount Lemmon hikers rescued by helicopter –   Carmen Duarte – Arizona Daily Star, Rescuers searching for two women lost on Mount Lemmon – Scott Oathout – KVOA.

A group on the Butterfly Trail is reported missing. Sheriff’s deputies search for group of six missing hikers – Alyssa Reilly – KVOA.

First Day Hike is great way to start 2015 – Cathalena E. Burch – Arizona Daily Star: There were a number of parks with guided First Day Hikes this year – a great way to start the year!

The Bighorn Sheep Restoration Project Status update for 12/18 to 12/31 is now available (all updates are currently available here). Three new lambs have been observed in the Santa Catalina Mountains and there is video of one of them! This update has information on recent deaths including a report on the death of Ewe #643. When the death of Ewe #643 was first investigated there was not an obvious cause – later analysis indicates that an infection, probably originally caused by an external trauma, was the cause.

AZGF Requests Voluntary Early Bighorn Closure, Ice

Posted - Charles Miles

AZGFD prepares for lambs; trail restrictions in place till April – Sean Mooney and Anthony Reyes – KVOA.com, Wildlife officials to hikers: Help protect bighorns – Douglas Kreutz – Arizona Daily Star: The official Bighorn Sheep Closure in the Santa Catalina Mountains starts on January 1 and runs until April 30 – AZGF is asking hikers to voluntarily begin observing the closure immediately. The reason for the request is speculation that the lambing season will start early this year for ewes brought from the Canyon Lake area northeast of Phoenix (there are reports of lambs being born already this year in that area).

Limited access to Mt. Lemmon Highway due to icy roads – Tucson News Now: Open with restrictions – storms this time of year could cause changes at any time!

 

Death, Survey, Slipping, Passes, Warming

Posted - Charles Miles

The Bighorn Sheep Restoration Project Status update for 12/4 to 12/17 is now available (all updates are currently available here). Two reported mortalities – the death of ewe 435 by a mountain lion and ewe 649 who is now presumed dead (a malfunctioning collar delayed confirmation of this mortality – the helicopter survey observed bones  near 649’s last position). On 12/3 a helicopter survey of the Bighorn population was conducted – 15 sheep and 1 lamb were spotted – the survey was conducted without the use of the GPS data from the collars to help establish an observation rate for future years/surveys.

Mt. Lemmon firefighters face unique challenges in the snow – Christina Myers – KGUN9: Interesting details about the winter challenges/duties of the Firefighters with the Mt. Lemmon Fire District – “the most frequent calls in the snow are for hypothermia, people slipping on ice and falling over the edge, and sledding accidents.”

Man falls, injured while hiking in Seven Falls – Brent Corrado – KGUN9: “A man was injured after slipping and falling while hiking in Seven Falls on Sunday morning.”

Coronado Passes and Permits – Annual and Daily Passes for Coronado National Forest are now available for purchase online. When you are purchasing a pass you can either select a ‘self-print’ option or have the pass mailed to you (currently shipping costs start at 4.95) – a $1.95 convenience fee is added per permit (there are a number of self-pay stations (cash and correct change needed) on the mountain where day passes can be purchased without printing/shipping/convenience fee – additional information on fees can be found on the Coronado National Forest Passes and Permits Page). Interagency Annual Passes (which covers standard fees at Forest Service, National Park and BLM sites) and Notice of Required Fee resolution are also available online. Note that most trailheads in the Santa Catalina Mountains do NOT require a fee.

Arizona Game And Fish – materials from meetings of the Catalina Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Advisory Committee: Arizona Game and Fish recently released meeting notes for the Santa Catalina Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Advisory Committee meetings in response to a public records request (see Catalina Bighorn Sheep Advisory Committee – Meeting Notes, Public Records Request for more details) – this AZGF page has the notes (as PDFs) and additional information including some responses to criticisms/questions the release of the notes generated.

Presumed death of bighorn brings criticism of state’s tracking – Craig Reck – Tucson News Now: Concerns about counting/tracking sheep in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

Warming trend begins – Arizona Daily Star.

Snow, Passes Online, Helicopters

Posted - Charles Miles

Mt. Lemmon Highway reopened – Tucson News Now, Rain in Tucson, travel restrictions on Mount Lemmon – Arizona Daily Star, Mt. Lemmon receives first snowfall of season – Rikki Mitchell, Rain in Tucson, snow in mountains likely Saturday – Arizona Daily Star: Several articles from the past week about storms with both rain and snow – with more in the forecast! Remember that on snowy days there is always a chance that the highway will close.

Purchase Coronado passes online Friday – Sierra Vista Herald: “Coronado National Forest day and annual passes will be available for purchase online beginning this week.” Check the Coronado National Forest Homepage for details. In the Santa Catalina Mountains travel on the highway, parking at vistas/observation points along the highway, parking at most trailheads (and hiking!) and parking in Summerhaven does NOT require a pass or fee – however developed areas such, as the picnic areas in Bear Canyon, do require a pass.

Plan to use helicopters in Arizona wilderness draws complaints – Brenna Goth – The Arizona Repulic: An article about the Arizona Game and Fish request filed earlier in the year for a Wilderness Act exception to allow helicopter use in an area including the Four Peaks, Hellsgate, Mazatzal, Salt River Canyon and Superstition Wilderness areas. Arizona Game and Fish has made a similar proposal in the Pusch Ridge wilderness that appears to still be under consideration. Project Page – Pusch Ridge Wilderness, Tonto National Forest – as I understand it the comment period for both of these proposals has already ended. While helicopter use would make capturing and studying Bighorn in these Wilderness Areas easier – and I suspect that these requests will be approved – I lament the disturbance of/intrusion on this small portion of our public lands and don’t think this proposal merits an exception to the Wilderness Act.