Weather
- Air Temp
- 13
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 9 cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Snowpack
Welcome back winter!
Today was an exceptionally cold Sierra storm day. The high temperature at Sonora Pass was 13 degrees Fahrenheit, before windchill. That being said, we took the sleds up to Sonora Pass proper to observe the happenings of the current storm. We experienced minimal visibility, decent wind drifts, and consistent moderate WSW winds, with frequent strong gusts. It snowed continuously, with varying intensity.
We opted to park the sleds at a lower elevation and go for a small tour. We explored a protected N facing slope of Sardine Can Wall and witnessed swirling winds with moderate snow transport. We expected to find wind slab formation. However, we found a right side up snowpack with 9 cm of new snow that was wind affected, yet no slab formation was present in the sheltered terrain we explored. We experienced loose dry sluffing on slopes with wind/sun crusts beneath the new snow.
The sun came out for a few moments, and we had a quick line of sight to some very wind affected alpine terrain on the horizon. Numerous peaks were scoured to rock, and flagging was evident, suggesting wind slab formation on leeward slopes.