Rare avalanche spotted on Mount San Jacinto above Coachella Valley

As if Southern California blizzard warnings and snow-dusted yuccas weren’t already surreal enough, some eagle-eyed interstate travelers saw another rare sight Sunday that might’ve left them wondering if they’d made a wrong turn into the Rockies: an avalanche.

A photo taken by Joyce Schwartz Sunday and later shared by the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit showed snow cascading down the north face of the mountains, sending multiple plumes into the air. Schwartz said she and a friend were driving west to Palm Springs on Interstate 10 and nearing the Highway 111 cutoff at around 9 a.m. when the friend saw the snow start to move.

"My friend noticed the clouds and the snow on the mountains and we started looking at it and taking pictures of it and then she said, 'that's an avalanche,'" said Schwartz, who called the sight a once-in a-lifetime experience.

Schwartz, who has lived in more avalanche-prone areas of New York State and Vermont, said Sunday was her first time seeing an avalanche. She used her cellphone to grab the picture, and assumes not many people around her noticed it as traffic did not slow at all from drivers taking a look.

"Here's the thing, who would realize it was an avalanche?" she said.

Brion Flynn also later shared a black and white photo of the avalanche he took with his camera.

The avalanche was an unusual occurrence on Mount San Jacinto, RMRU President Eric Holden said.

“On Mount San Jacinto, the conditions just aren’t good for avalanches with the slopes and amount of trees we have,” he said. “So, to see something like this happen is very rare.”

However, Holden said that the one place where avalanches can sometimes happen is that north face. Thankfully, no one is believed to have been on the mountain at the time.

The section where the avalanche occurred rarely has people on it, he said, because climbing options are limited to a very technical route that is typically attempted only by experienced climbers later in the season.

Holden said he could not recall the last time there had been an avalanche on Mount San Jacinto. But in 2020, two people had to be rescued when they were caught in an avalanche while hiking in Snow Creek Canyon on the north face.

One thing Holden was sure of, however, is that Sunday’s avalanche appeared to be no joke.

“That face of the mountain is 10,000 feet big,” he said as he referenced the photo. “So, that avalanche looks very large.”

Another foot of snow on tap

The avalanche was the product of the unique winter storm that has left those who live on the mountain measuring the snow in feet over the last few days. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway reported that over 2 feet of snow fell Sunday at the tram’s mountain station, while National Weather Service spotters reported measuring anywhere from 16 to 20 inches of snow around Idyllwild on Sunday.

The agency was also warning Monday that the storm was far from done. It issued a winter storm warning lasting from 12:25 p.m. on Monday to 10 p.m. on Wednesday stating that as much as another 16 inches of heavy snow are expected in the mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties.

The snow was expected to gradually grow heavier Monday and Tuesday before tapering off Wednesday morning and afternoon. Accumulations of 8 to 16 inches were expected above 5,500 feet, while 2 to 8 inches was expected from 4,000 to 5,500 feet.

The storm was also expected to bring high winds of as much as 75 mph that could cause extensive tree damage and make travel in the mountains difficult or even impossible.

While the snow was expected to be confined to higher elevations, the storm was also expected to bring winds of as high as 80 mph to the San Gorgonio Pass and nearby areas.

Holden said the snow could remain on the mountain for as long as a month, particularly if temperatures stay cool, and create potential for more avalanches.

'“With the amount that we have, I don’t think it’s going anywhere for quite some time,” he said.

That’s a concern given that thousands of hikers who are attempting to complete the Pacific Crest Trail typically come through the San Jacinto Mountains in March. For that reason, Holden worries this could be bad year when it comes to mountain rescues and is encouraging those attempting the Pacific Crest Trail to skip the San Jacintos altogether.

I would absolutely encourage people to bypass our mountains. unless they have lots of mountaineering experience and all the gear,” he said. “And PCT hikers typically don’t.”

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.