Free SNOTEL Snowshoe Tour!

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Eagle River Watershed Council invites the community to learn the ins-and-outs of snowpack science with a hands-on mini “snow course” at the McCoy Park SNOTEL Station. The course will take place from 8 AM-12:30 PM on Wednesday, January 17^th. The program is part of the Watershed Council’s community education “Watershed Wednesday” series, and will be led by Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) snow surveyor and soil conservationist, Derrick Wyle.

NRCS Snow Surveyors make monthly measurements of the snowpack using specialized sampling tubes on long-established snow courses.  NRCS also operates an extensive, automated system to collect snowpack and related climatic data in the Western United States called SNOTEL (for SNOwpack TELemetry).  As a group, participants will travel a short distance by snowshoe to the active SNOTEL monitoring station and explore the two methods used to measure snowpack, how the station transmits the data back to the master station, and what that data is used to predict. Participants will also get the chance to set up a mock “snow course” and learn how to manually measure snowpack by collecting a snow sample and using the sampling tubes.

Spots are limited and must be reserved–those interested should contact the Watershed Council at (970) 827-5406 or by emailing schoder@erwc.org. A $10 suggested donation is encouraged. Please bring snowshoes and dress warmly!

Learn more here!