Quick report
We rode 20 miles ranging from 7,900 ft to 9,000ft. The snow was soft, cold and deep. There wasn't any wind slab or cohesion on the surface, in our area. We found some old / buried wind slabs in expected locations. Ridgelines were more shallow, rocks were present, and open water exists. Based on the visible blowing snow, it is assumed that other locations had more wind effect and loading. Sheltered areas had great riding conditons.
The only signs of instability that were obeserved was the blowing snow off summit peaks and the Sierra crest ridgeline. We were actively looking for recent wind deposits and couldn't find any cohesive slabs on the surface.Weather
- Air Temp
- 25
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
The main theme of today was the new snow and the increasing north winds. There was 14cm (5inches) of new snow when we left Meyers. As we passed Kirkwood on 88, the new snow dissipated to 0 cm. We were surpised the new snow had not made it to Tragedy Springs based on the amount of snow we saw during the drive. North winds were light in the morning, increasing to strong in the afternoon. We could see wind banners on the crest peaks all day; it wasnt until the afternoon they dropped in elevation and started to affect our area. The temps were cold, 25F without wind chill. Clear skies.
Snowpack
Our pit results did not show a cohesive slab. Snow depth ranged from 80cm - 300cm. The averge HS was 185cm at 8,500ft. The snow was cold and soft in sheltered areas unaffected by recent winds. Areas exposed to the wind were more shallow, some exposing the rain crust or rocks. Compared to some places in South Lake, this is almost double the snow above the rain crust. Wind protected and forested areas had great conditions for sledding and shredding.