Posts Tagged ‘snowpack’

Biggest Snow Pack on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River Since 1974!

by ECHO Staff on May 26th, 2011

The latest reports from Idaho are predicting amazing flows on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River throughout the 2011 season. The Salmon River basin has a snow pack of 140% of average, which hasn’t been seen in over 35 years. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River’s Facebook Page has come alive with predictions and wagers for the peak flow, and outfitters are preparing for higher then normal flows this summer!

Entering the Impassible Canyon on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River

Entering the Impassible Canyon on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River


Unlike other seasons that had the Middle Fork flows dwindling by the end of the summer, we expect to see great flows well into August. If you haven’t booked your Middle Fork trip yet, look to late July and August, when the weather will be hot and sunny and the river will likely have plenty of water to raft the full 100 miles.

ECHO has availability on some great dates like the Kids Trip July 31-August 5 with a reduced rate of $1445 for ages 7-17 or the August 16-21 trip which should have amazing fishing as the trout fatten up for fall.

This post was tagged with , and posted in Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

Great News for the Middle Fork Snowpack

by ECHO Staff on May 27th, 2010

The early reports for the Idaho snowpack this season have indicated that it will not be another huge water year like we saw in 2008 and 2009, but the cool spring has us hopeful for a nice, long season on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. The past few weeks and today’s weather forecast are great news for those of you rafting the Middle Fork this summer.

Despite beginning the winter with 170% of the average precipitation in October, November-March were atypically dry throughout the Northwest. El Nino created warmer than average temperatures and less precipitation in the region, as witnessed at the Vancouver Olympics. However, spring storms have been raging with over 100% of the average precipitation for April. Last weekend, Stanley was blanketed in fresh snow and Salmon had snow on Monday, with more in the forecast. Although the spring rain and snow can’t completely make up for the low snowpack, the cooler temperatures will help to delay the melt and thus, the peak flow.

So what does this mean for you rafters and kayakers? Our fears of starting all of our trips at the lower put-in location have subsided, and we expect that the trips through June and the beginning of July will be able to raft the full 100 miles from Boundary Creek to Cache Bar. Our first trip launches next week and will most likely encounter high flows and cold temperatures. The two kayaking trips with Phil and Mary DeRiemer should still have good water for all of you paddlers, as long as the temperatures don’t suddenly spike. We may have to start trips at the lower put-in by mid-July, but it is all dependent on the next couple of weeks’ temperatures and precipitation.

Although the Middle Fork of the Salmon River can be hard to predict, it definitely puts the “wild” in wilderness river trips!

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Good Snow = Great Flow!

by ECHO Staff on May 8th, 2008

Throughout the winter and spring, we at ECHO World HQ have watched in wonder as the snow continued to fall in the Salmon River Basin. Why does the snowpack excite us you wonder? Do we get so bored in the off-season that we start using kayaks as sleds? No, it is because lots of snow provides great river flow throughout the summer!

As of today, the snowpack for the Salmon River Watershed is 22% above average. This means the Middle Fork of the Salmon River promises high flows and excitement in June. Our July and August trips should be perfect for families and most trips should launch at Boundary Creek and cover the entire 100 miles. If you haven’t already booked your trip, this would be a great year to experience the glory of the Middle Fork!

Check-out the new Sawtooth Camera with real-time views of the Sawtooth Mountains from Stanley at www.SawtoothCamera.com.

This post was tagged with , and posted in Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

Salmon River Snowpack Report

by ECHO Staff on March 2nd, 2007

Recent storms in the mountains of Idaho have increased the snowpack to 83% of average as of March 2, 2007 for the Salmon River basin. This is great news for our trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon for this summer.

The Middle Fork is a free flowing river, it has no dams on it that control the flow of water. That means that the water that we float down in the summers is due to winter snowpack, spring rain, and summer temperatures. We like to have snowpack between 80% and 120% of average. From experience we have found that this range of snowpack gives us runnable flows through August while keeping the water at a reasonable level during the June runoff.

This is especially good news for the Salmon Supreme trip that starts on May 29th. Since we run both the Middle Fork and Main Salmon in seven days, we need higher water flows to do the 160 – 185 miles that we’re planning on covering in such a short time. Below average snowpack means that the road Boundary Creek should open by then so that we can run the entire 100 miles of the Middle Fork. When the road is closed we have to fly into Indian Creek and miss the exciting upper 25 miles.

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California’s May Snowmelt Report

by Zachary on May 4th, 2005

Cold temperatures in the high Sierra and spring snowstorms have prevented California’s snowpack from decreasing this spring. As of May 1 2005, the snowpack for the Tuolumne River is 179% of normal and the snowpack for the Merced River is 187% of normal. We are looking forward to a week of cold weather and precipitation so these percentages may still increase.

This means that we are expecting very high water at the end of May when the temperatures begin to rise and that the high water should last through June. We may also see the fun medium flows on the Tuolumne through the middle of July. Those of you looking for a unique and rare high water experience in hot weather should consider trip in June and those looking for more of a mellow trip should consider a late July or August trip.

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