Snowpack

Lick Creek Summit

Kevin StudleySalmon River Mountains
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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3Observation photo 4

Weather

Air Temp
30
Cloud Cover
few
Wind Loading
none
Recent Snowfall
None
Snow Avail For Transport
none

Another clear, sunny day. Temperatures were in the low teens down near Little Lake. Winds were calm. Beautiful day in the mountains.

Snowpack

The snowpack is very quiet right now. There are no current avalanche problems. The current, two-week dry spell has done a number on the upper snowpack. The sun and wind have heavily impacted the snow surface at mid/upper elevations. Upper elevation snow surface is a mix of crusts (MF & firnspiegel), facets, wind board (sastrugi). Surface hoar crystals can be measured in cm instead of mm. Near-surface faceting has weakened the upper 10-20 cm within the past two weeks. Once this current snow surface does get buried, the snowpack will become much more interesting. How many photos of you surface hoar can one take?