Quick report
Temperatures hovered around freezing last night, creating a weak refreeze in the surface snow. During our tour, we encountered a mix of springlike snow, corn snow, and some transitional snow leftover from the snow around April 1st. The snowpack felt well consolidated overall and did not get punchy till later in the afternoon in treeline terrain. The terrain around Sonora Pass showed signs of new snow surfaces from the storm at the start of the month as well as old surface snow which appeared more scalloped and textured.
We were expecting to see some roller balls or pinwheels during the heat of the day; however, we did not see any wet loose snow activity.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 52
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Temperatures remained well above freezing throughout the day with little to no wind. In the Alpine, there was a light northerly flow through the PCT crossing shoulder or col. A few scattered clouds were present, overall sunny skies.
Snowpack
From Sonora Pass, gaining the PCT crossing pass did not require ski crampons, and we chose a north-facing aspect for our descent. No signs of instability were present today. Access remains a challenge on 108 as the highway is not yet open, and the snowpack below treeline is marginal and in many places non-existent. Boot penetration was minimal overall, and the snow from the beginning of the month has consolidated in the area we toured.