Quick report
Todays observations are from Old Ski Bowl, between 11 am and 2 pm. Snow surfaces have softened up to 10,000 feet, however, there were very little signs of wet instability. A light westerly wind appears to be providing just enough cooling to keep surfaces from getting too warm. Cornices exist above most north facing aspects. As the days heat intensified, chuncks of cornice were seen falling onto slopes below. All rock outcrops are completely coated in rime ice, which will likely begin to shed as the warm trend continues.
Despite the warm temperatures and soft snow, there were very few signs of wet instability. Below 7,000 feet, snowmobile tracks and ski cuts would occasionally initiate roller balls. The larger hazard is the large amount of rime ice on rock outcrops and weaken cornices. Chuncks of failing cornices were quickly identified below steep areas.Weather
- Air Temp
- 40
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- N/A
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Sunny skies and very warm temperatures. A light (1-16 MPH) wind blew consistently out of the west, with periods of moderate (17-25 MPH) speeds. The wind helped to keep temperatures from feeling too warm.
Snowpack
As of 1 pm, snow surfaces were soft at elevations up to 10,000 feet. At 10,000 feet, softening was limited to the couple inches of snow. Below treeline, snow surfaces were mushy and unsupportable. In Old Ski Bowl, most open slopes were inpressively smooth. So smooth, at times, that it was actually challenging to decipher terrain depth while snowmobiling.