Mt Judah / Donner Summit

We went to investigate yesterday's avalanche in the Poop Chute. As we drove up, we saw other avalanches and cornice failures from Jan 5th on Donner Peak and Mt. Judah (see the avalanche section of this observation). We could also see widespread wind-affected snow across all of Donner Summit. We made it to the flanks of the Poop Chute avalanche, and tests in that area today did not produce unstable results. Then we moved up the slope to the crown. Tests at the crown also did not yield unstable results. Snowpit data indicated that the avalanche failed on a storm-snow weakness, and that the weakness is not showing as many signs of instability. We continued to explore the area, looking for any signs of lingering instability. Ski kicks could still trigger cornice failures, but they did not produce shooting cracks or failures on the slopes below them. Additional snowpit tests on wind-loaded areas also did not produce unstable results today. We also began to see settlement cracks around trees. 

In this area, evidence of yesterday's winds was widespread. Most slopes had some form of wind-affected snow, with a denser wind-packed layer near the surface. Uneven wind textures were also prevalent across all elevations.

 

We saw several recent avalanches and cornice failures that likely occurred yesterday.