Quick report
We wanted to examine some of the older avalanches near Round Top to determine what they failed on and when they might have released. After investigating them, they likely failed during the New Year's storm (more in the attached avalanches).
Variable best describes today's conditions. We traveled through all kinds of snow getting from Carson Pass to Round Top and back. Some soft snow still lingered on wind-protected slopes, especially on north aspects. Exposed areas have every kind of wind-affected surface imaginable: sastrugi, wind-scoured, rippled, wind-buffed, etc. Sunny slopes had sun crusts, particularly those at mid and lower elevations. We also found firm rain crusts on ridges and wind-scoured slopes extending to the ridge tops.
As for signs of unstable snow, we did not observe anything significant. There was some blowing snow, but the deposits of new wind-blown snow remained shallow and limited in distribution.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- light
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Warm sunny weather made the moderate NE wind feel cool and refreshing even at the upper elevations.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Aspect
- N
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 9800 ft
These avalanches likely occurred between Jan 3 and 5, 2026, during the New Year's storm. They likely failed due to weaknesses in the storm snow.