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Professional Observation

       

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
November 26, 2022
Submitted:
November 26, 2022
Observer:
Steve Mace, Clancy Nelson | ESAC Forecaster
Zone or Region:
Mammoth Lakes
Location:
Mammoth Lakes Basin - Variable surface conditions

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced

Key Points

  • The primary concern remains the thin coverage and a plethora of shallow obstacles, The rocks are hungry.
  • Recent warm temperatures and sunny skies have left surface Melt freeze crusts ranging from thin zipper crusts to more substantial ice layers 1-2 cm thick on most solar aspects and at lower elevations.
  •  On more shaded aspects faceting is still prevalent throughout the snowpack. While this is keeping surface conditions soft and pleasant, deeper ski penetration seems to bring those rocks closer to the surface.
  • Checking our speed helped us enjoy the descent with only minimal petex lost to the sharks.

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Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Overcast
Temperature:
34°
Wind:
Light , W

We left the trailhead this morning under ominous and cloudy skies, relatively warm temperatures and with light to moderate winds out of the west. Sporadic flurries made a brief appearance on our ascent before the clouds started to break around mid-day. Mostly clear skies prevailed for the afternoon

Snowpack Observations

Our biggest observation about the snowpack today was the variety of challenging surface conditions. We encountered everything from soft recycled powder on protected polar aspects, wind textured snow in more exposed areas NTL and ATL, and a wide variety of grabby melt freeze crusts on more solar aspects. In classic Sierra fashion, the variable surface conditions kept us on our toes.

We dug in on a N aspect at around 10,200’ and found a largely right-side up and faceted snowpack. Stability tests in this location did not highlight a layer of concern today. Our thoughts around the snowpack focus more on the potential for problems developing in the future when we see a big load added to this weak base.

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