Rubicon Peak

Went for a early morning tour up rubicon. To my surprise the area had been pretty heavily skied the day before (almost looked like 3 days worth of ski traffic). Regardless, temps were cold, winds were light and snow quality was great. Below 8000k in this area coverage is still really thin compared to zones to the north. This was my first time skiing south of Blackwood canyon this winter. Notable observations were isolated pockets of newly developed surface hoar on upper open slopes combined with minimal wind effect on snow surface besides ridgeline terrain. Also the lack of snow cover in the upper elevations of desolation wilderness. Winds looked to have removed a lot of snow above 8000k back there. As usual my curiosity got the best of me and I dug a pit on a north aspect at 8800ft. Results as follows. - HS 105 - F/4F soft slab from January snow events. - December mid pack was a mix of crusts + facets + rounds - November basal facets were still weak (4F), gaining strength slowly but still large in size + angular. - CT results: CTM (PC) on January 6th new/old interface CTH (RP) on January 2nd interface (near crust facets) - DT results: Removed January snow (50cm worth) DTM (SC) on basal facets 10cm above ground - Did not run tests for propagation due to the lack of stiff slab over weak layers, would expect an ECTN result if conducted. very limited surface signs of instability, got a few isolated cracks on skin track kick tests, but nothing alarming.

Rubicon Peak

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