Mongolia Bowl
Lizard
seanzdub , Saturday 11th March, 2023 10:00PM
Weather changed from high thin overcast to full overcast with some light snow (S-1) by 3pm. Winds were calm to light out the southwest. We found some wind-affected snow from the prior 24 hrs period along the ridgelines, and scouring was evident on the upper northerly faces of Mammoth Head. We found small isolated pockets of stubborn to reactive wind slabs. A significant sun crust 3-4cm thick and semi-supportable exists on SE-S-SW facing terrain Near Tree Line and Above. This crust has 5cm of low-density new snow above and a thin layer of (1cm) of faceted snow below. Sitting below the facets are decomposing fragments and a preserved layer of graupel 6-10cm thick depending on the slope angle. This structure may become an issue if buried by a storm event and loaded further by wind. Northerly facing terrain sheltered from the recent NE wind event is still riding well and capped by a nice dusting of new snow.
