Paradise

The visibility was difficult at Paradise on Friday, significantly limiting observations of the surrounding terrain. I traveled up to the base of Pan Point and then elected to wander around Golden Gate Bowls and Alta Vista where some trees could guide me, rather than push higher into the white. 

Pillows of wind-drifted snow were found near these smaller ridgelines, but cornices haven't really started to develop quite yet, from what I could see. Although the new snow appears to have improved conditions remarkably, there are still plenty of holes and creeks to look out for.  We also encountered shallowly buried rocks and trees, one of which I stumbled over in the clouds. In a brief moment of "clearing," the surrounding ridgelines and bowls had plenty of rocks peppered into their otherwise white coats.

Localized cracking of the surface in wind-drifted pillows was observed. Later in the day, uptrack tests produced small blocks to fail. Poor visibility severely limited observations of the surrounding terrain.

The height of snow varies widely across the landcape. I measured as little as 46cm and as much as 120. Most measurements came in just shy of a meter deep. 

40-50cm of dry storm snow sits over the 12/6 interface. The HST is fairly well bonded to this wet crust and lacks significant layers of concern. I was able to produce some failures down roughly 20cm on a midstorm layer, but they were somewhat irregular and the slab was generally soft.

In exposed areas, a slightly firm wind skiff had formed on the surface.