Manto nevoso

Mammoth Lakes Basin - TJ zone

Steve MaceEastside Region
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Quick report

We toured out towards the Mammoth Crest in the Lakes basin today to survey for new snow totals and to see if we could find any fresh wind slab deposits.

  • Evidence of our recent extreme wind events are everywhere.
  • Tree debris litters the ground in more sheltered areas at lower elevations. 
  • Surfaces were wind-textured to some degree everywhere we traveled today.
    • Wind boards of varying thickness were encountered in more exposed areas near and above treeline.
    • Surfaces were also stiffened in more sheltered areas, though we managed to find pleasant and constant sliding conditions in protected north-facing terrain.
  • Despite the copious evidence of recent wind transport, we noted no signs of instability along our tour. We found a few terrain features with recent loading, though these deposits were unreactive to my weight. 
No signs of instability were noted on my tour today. I tried to sniff out some recent wind slab development and was largely unsuccessful in my search. I found a few small terrain features near treeline with stubborn/unreactive deposits from the storm on 12/14.

Weather

Air Temp
31
Cloud Cover
clear
Wind Loading
none
Recent Snowfall
2.5
Snow Avail For Transport
moderate amounts

It was a beautiful day in the hills today with mostly clear skies, light winds, and temperatures near freezing.

Snowpack

  • I dug in at 10,400' on a north aspect and found a largely right-side-up snowpack.
  • The snow that fell prior to December is all faceted to some degree, though I did not have any concerning results in my stability tests today
  • see profile for more details