Chris Moore watched in awe this winter as the snow piled up on his multiple trips to Bear Valley Mountain Resort in the central Sierra.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a winter quite like this,\u201d said Moore, California regional manager for O.A.R.S.<\/a> rafting company.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat all this snow means is it\u2019s going to be a long and exciting whitewater season, so I\u2019m stoked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to have big flows in the late spring and early summer and a more drawn-out whitewater season on rivers here in California.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore\u2019s enthusiasm is widespread among rafting outfitters up and down the state, some of whom are still recovering from the drought, which just two years ago saw April 1 snowpack measurements of 5% of normal throughout much of the Sierra.<\/p>\n This year, however, the snowpack is 140% of normal for the Northern Sierra and 169% of normal for the Central Sierra, according to the California Data Exchange Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the season is shaping up.<\/p>\n The Middle, North and South forks of the American River<\/strong>, as well as the North Fork of the Stanislaus River<\/strong> will have high flows in May and June, moderating as the summer progresses.<\/p>\n \u201cThe South Fork of the American, which is normally a fun Class III river that\u2019s great for even young kids, is not going to be the kind of stream you\u2019d want to take your 6-year-old on around the start of the season\u201d Moore said. \u201cBut it will mellow out, too, as the season unfolds.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the water on the South Fork will be roaring early, O.A.R.S. will offer its one-day, \u201c21-Miler\u201d trips seven days a week from April through June.<\/p>\n These wild rides combine the upper Chili Bar section with the lower Gorge section. At lower flows, covering all 21 miles of the South Fork would make for a long day, but not this spring and early summer.<\/p>\n More at LATimes.com<\/a> >>><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chris Moore watched in awe this winter as the snow piled up on his multiple trips to Bear Valley Mountain Resort in the central Sierra. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a winter quite like this,\u201d said Moore, California regional manager for O.A.R.S. rafting company. \u201cWhat all this snow means is it\u2019s going to be a long and … Continue reading Thanks to abundant snow, the West can expect a long, rollicking river rafting season<\/span>