Elephant's Hump

Driving down to Carson Pass, we saw more widespread cloud cover and experienced some light rain/mist. This misting left a thin layer of wet snow on the surface in most places up to about 8700 ft on Elephant's Hump. Above that elevation, the snow surface still felt slightly heavier than the soft, recent snow just below the surface. Ski cuts triggered small rollerballs and pinwheels that entrained this thin layer of wet snow on east aspects below 8,700 ft. 

Based on the wind-affected snow we saw yesterday in the Mt. Rose area, we expected to find signs of NE winds and some scouring along the ridges of Elephant's Hump as well. However, those N-NE winds did not impact this area nearly as much. We still found soft snow on the ridges and exposed slopes. Plenty of soft snow remains available for the incoming strong NE winds to transport. We also tested several slopes with wind-loading from the recent storm and found no signs of lingering windslab instability.