Quick report
We toured Hidden Peak on the West Shore today. 4 to 6'' of new snow was found at the trailhead this morning with up to 8 to 10'' of new snow found at the upper elevations above 8000'. The new storm snow was heavier and denser than expected today, especially at the lower elevations. As we neared the top of Hidden Peak the surface snow had some wind texture with some punchy snow quality. We found limited signs of instabilities today. The strong to gale force winds overnight formed dense wind slabs that appeared unreactive. We only observed small localized cracks in some wind loaded areas. The heavier storm snow was consistent and right side up with this denser snow not producing much dry loose sluffing in steep terrain.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 5500
- Recent Snowfall
- 20
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Mostly cloudy conditions with some small sun breaks mid morning on the West Shore. Cloud cover increased into mid-day. Winds were light with some moderate gusts and limited blowing snow on the upper Hidden Peak ridgeline.