Quick report
Today's objective was to assess above treeline surface conditions, and investigate Saturday's natural avalanche in Sun Bowl. Surface conditions have suffered from the long-standing northwest winds Mount Shasta has been experiencing. If going above treeline, expect to find a little bit of everything. Due to the ice, our party used crampons just to access the top of Sun Bowl. The Sun Bowl avalanche is quite impressive. This was naturally triggered, ranging from 3 to 5 feet deep, 400 feet wide, and ran over 1,000 feet into the trees below. The debris fanned out across the entire runnout, with blocks the size of refrigerators in there. Skiing through the debris is quite challenging.
No instabilities were observed.Weather
- Air Temp
- 37
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Today brought warm, and sunny weather across Mount Shasta. Temperatures quickly rose above freezing, reaching over 40 degrees F at 8,000 feet. Winds stayed calm.
Snowpack
The snowpack has firmed up quickly following this last storm cycle. Most aspects hold dense, well-consolidated snow, with a light surface crust. Above treeline, surface conditions are variable. Exposed slopes and ridges are scoured with sastrugi, rock, wind board, and ice. Near treeline on northerly aspects, preserved soft snow can still be found. By midday, surface snow became moist up to 9,000 feet. This will surely develop a widespread surface crust overnight.