Quick report
We went to Bishop Creek to look at the snowpack so you don't have to. This was an instructive tour for studying the snowpack, or taking your skis for a walk, but I wouldn't do it recreationally. We adopted a multi-lense approach to zoom out on the big picture, and zoom in to specific snowpack structures on specific slopes.
Zoom out: Poor coverage, a generally stable snowpack, and challenging surface conditions are the name of the game.
Zoom in: Where there is snow cover (see snowpack section) it is shallow, continental, and weak.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 20s
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
A beautiful, cold day.
Snowpack
Aspects:
- S-SW: bare ground.
- SE: snow in gullies. 1-4 mm P melt-freeze crust over FC over more crusts. HS = 40 cm.
- NW: stripped by several upslope wind events.
- N-NE: coverage above ~9500 ft. Smooth ground cover (scree or grass) needs less HS to be above threshold for future avalanches. HS = 60-80 cm. Shallow, faceted, continental snowpack waiting on a cohesive slab. Up to 20 cm F FCs over 1F crust in sheltered trees. 1F-K wind board over F DH in open gullies.