Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Facets are still present in the snow pack from our long dry winter. I am not sure how much snow is available for transport right now, but we certainly have had the winds to blow it around lately.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Even though it is the beginning of April our snowpack still has an abundance of facets underneath the new snow at upper elevation north facing slopes. Just because it is spring does not necessarily mean we have spring conditions down here in the desert. Careful slope assement is still key.</p> <p>Like I mentioned above I do not know how much snow is available for transport, but we certainly have had the winds for it the past few days. </p>
Although it snowed the entire time that I was touring there was only a trace of accumulation, even up at treeline. Overall conditions seem to be going through a transitional period right now with most of the snowpack being crusted over, but not quite to a corn cycle. On the way up to the top of the north woods my pole probes reiterated that there is till a pile of faceted snow underneath the new snow that fell last week. Even the snow in the sheltered trees is highly variable with small patches of soft settled powder but the majority of what I found was tree bombed from last storms snow and sun affected wherever the sun can get through the trees. near the bottom of the northwoods it almost felt like there was a week uniform melt freeze crust. Currently our total snow depth is 65".