Koenig Lake

We rode the sleds up to Leavitt and Koenig Lakes today. The quick-hitting storm from 12/17 brought rain up to 8K at the end of the day. When making the turnoff of 108 at 8400 ft, we found dry snow and an abrupt change in conditions. Overall, this part of the range is still thin with early-season snow. Sheltered areas around these two lakes harbored deeper pockets of drifted in gullies and wind scoured ridges. Bushes, rocks, and stumps were all present, cautious machine riding was required to navigate the early season conditions. 

In the snowpit we dug above Koenig Lake we found 2 feet of wind-pressed snow sitting on top of faceted snow (the near-surface facet layer buried by the storm that started on the 12th).  This weak facet layer has been gaining strength yet the upside-down structure of strong snow on top of weak snow presented a concern. Snowpack tests produced propagation during our Extended Column Tests today. Fractures occurred under taps from the elbow and shoulder. At the bottom of our snowpit, weak snow was also present. The snow at the bottom of the pack did not produce a result during snowpack tests, yet failed when 30+ taps had been exceeded.  This dormant layer is worth noting as a change in the weather (new snow or rain) could re-awaken it.  A slab of snow on top of a thick layer of facets was the greatest layer of concern today.