Avalanche forecast

Central Sierra Nevada

Sierra Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 13 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The avalanche danger remains LOW at all elevations and on all aspects. Continue to use normal caution when traveling in the backcountry.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Even though human triggered avalanches are unlikely today, continue to exercise caution and use best-practice backcountry travel techniques including avoiding terrain traps that magnify the consequences of small avalanches and only putting one person on a slope at a time. Some small areas of unstable snow could still lurk on isolated terrain features during LOW danger days. Complex or extreme terrain like unsupported slopes above cliff bands, couliors, etc represent the places where these unlikely but not impossible patches unstable snow could linger in the form of small wind slabs. On the most sun-exposed SE-S-SW aspects a few small isolated wet snow instabilities could also form today.

Avalanche Discussion

Observations yesterday on Mt. Judah and near Relay Peak continued to indicate a stable and well-consolidated snowpack. Some hard wind slabs did exist in on N-NE-E aspects in both areas but the vast majority of observations indicated that these slabs have bonded to the snow/crusts below them and that breaking them loose has become unlikely. The northerly aspects and areas shaded from the sun held a wide variety of surface conditions ranging from a few inches of soft snow on sheltered slopes to wind packed snow to wind scoured surfaces to hard frozen crusts at lower elevations.

On the more sun exposed SE-S-SW aspects, 1-2 inches of soft melt-freeze snow formed up to 8200 ft. on Mt. Judah by noon. At the higher elevations on Relay Peak less melting meant that less soft surface snow formed and that it remained limited to the sunniest southerly aspects. Observations did not reveal any wet snow instabilities in either location yesterday.

Regions covered