Deep Creek

Deep Creek provided a good spot to see both potential avalanche problems today. Daytime warming caused wet snow to form on the south side of the ridge. We saw pinwheels and rollerballs on sunny slopes by 10 am. The wet snow instability progressed quickly from there with ski cuts triggereing sluffs of wet snow on SE-S aspects by 11 am. We also saw a small natural wet loose avalanche below some rocks at 8400 ft on the Sierra Crest at 10:30 am. 

The snow on the north side of the ridge remained mostly cold, dry, and unconsolidated on steeper slopes. Lower-angle slopes that got sunshine had wet snow on them by noon. We found previously wind-loaded areas near the ridgeline that remained sheltered enough to avoid getting scoured by the E-NE winds. Many of these slopes had small cornices above them, but the wind-blown snow on the slopes below remained soft and unconsolidated. Neither cornice pieces dropped onto these slopes nor ski cuts produced cracking or other signs of unstable wind slabs on these slopes. These tests still caused dry, loose snow sluffs to slide down steep slopes. These sluffs also happened on steep N-facing slopes in areas sheltered from the wind. 

We saw one small (D1) wet loose avalance that released naturally around 10:30 am on a SE aspect at 8400 ft below some rocks.