Forestdale

I performed digging observations at two locations today; one at the provided coordinates, and the other on a N aspect at 8400ft. At the provided coordinates, the snowpack was relatively deep and strong. In several places I probed the depth at 150-200cm. I dug in a shallow spot, at 100cm, and found a rightside up, firm snowpack that transitioned from 4F hard at the surface to Pencil hard just above the facets at the ground. Facets were 4F hard and reacted to Deep Tap tests (2x DTH SP at the interface between the facets and strong snow above). At the other location, the snowpack was shallower, but facets were clumping together in my hand and did not produce unstable ECT results. At both locations, the graupel/facet layer down 8-10 inches from the surface showed planar results with Shovel Tilt tests, but they did not propagate with ECTs.

Snowpack height was highly variable in this area, but the Forestdale Road provided continuous snow for travel, with pockets of good riding on shady slopes adjacent to the road.