Why Does Lassen Peak Typically Get More Snow Than Mt. Shasta in California? You’re probably wondering how can a peak that is further south and is around ~3,723 ft shorter in elevation typically receives more snow overall compared to a much taller edifice. Before I explain and break down this intriguing case, let’s first get our bearings set in terms of the location and overall coordinates of these two iconic peaks in the […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | September 25, 2023 0 Comments
The Glaciers of the North Cascades, WA, in an Ever-Changing Climate Did you know that the most glacier-concentrated terrain in the lower 48 is in the North Cascades National Park, located in the northern section of Washington state? In fact, this remote and wild National park embodies more glaciers than Glacier National Park (Montana) or any other National Park in the contiguous United States. There are over ~250 active glaciers contained […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | August 27, 2023 0 Comments
Analyzing 2022/2023 Winter Season at Crater Lake National Park, OR It’s safe to say that winters at Crater Lake, OR, tend to be legendary for many reasons. And I’m sure anyone reading this knows what I’m referring to. But if you are new to this, you are in for a treat. Let’s start by gaining some context on the history of the park and snippets into its geologic past and […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | July 24, 2023 0 Comments
Analyzing the 2022/2023 Winter Snowfall at Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA Looking back at the 2022/2023 winter season for parts of the West, it’s safe to say that this was one for the ages, especially for the high terrain in California. While it’s easy to gravitate and talk about the legendary snowpack records that were broken in the Sierra Nevada, I’m going to move a little further north of the Sierra […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | June 26, 2023 0 Comments
Exploring the Lesser Known Ski Areas in Eastern Oregon When you think of Eastern Oregon, you probably don’t associate it with seeking out a ski area for a number of reasons (remoteness, accessibility, lack of snow, etc.) Well, I’m here to hopefully expand your mind and highlight two underrated ski areas in this spectacular and often overlooked part of Oregon. Before I begin, I wanted to quickly touch on […] Matthew Oliphant | June 1, 2023 0 Comments
Why Did California Break So Many Records This Winter Even Though It Was La Niña? I am sure by now you are well aware of the record-breaking winter that California just experienced! To put this into perspective, the high terrain of California’s current snowpack is in the range of 195% to 300% of the normal average for this time of the season. Even more interesting is the snow water equivalent (amount of water locked up […] Weather Matthew Oliphant | April 25, 2023 0 Comments
Mt. Waterman Ski Area, CA, Can’t Open Because This Year’s Epic Snowfall Has Destroyed the Only Road to Get There You could single handily say that California just had the most historic winter season ever on record for much of the high terrain, and this even includes parts of southern California, which is saying a lot! This historic snowfall has caused increased pressure and demands on Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) to do their job and meet all areas needing […] Industry News Matthew Oliphant | April 6, 2023 0 Comments
Why Didn’t a Ski Lift/Tram Ever Get Built on Mt. Rainier, WA? Imagine taking a ski lift from Mt. Rainier’s Paradise station at 5,400 ft to the 10,000 ft Camp Muir level where you would have endless terrain to snowboard or ski. One could certainly see why this precise location would be so enticing and attractive to set up a permanent ski lift. You could easily argue that the south part of […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | March 21, 2023 0 Comments
Matthew Oliphant
Brains
Weather
Industry News