Sardine Meadows/Sonora Pass

A variety of surface conditions were experienced today.  It was a good day to get out with warm temperatures and minimal winds.

Sheltered, north-facing terrain is holding near-surface facets, providing for quality riding conditions. Below around 9,000 feet these same slopes are more likely to have a breakable crust at the surface.

Above treeline we encountered  a mix of windboard, firm scoured snow and pockets of soft faceted snow on N and NE aspects.

On solar slopes we found snow to remain firm above 9,600' at Sonora Pass during the early afternoon. Below 9,600' sunny slopes became soft and moist on the surface during the afternoon hours.  While the surface became soft, we did not encounter any loose-wet instability and the bigger hazard was thin coverage.

 

No signs of instability observed.