Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

Got a late start up Chicken Wing looking for some soft snow in mellow wind sheltered terrain Saturday morning. Areas that get sun had a 1-3 cm up to at least 9k ft. Shaded areas had deep, soft consolidating snow. As the trees thinned above 9,500 ft the northwest and northeast exposed ridges were noticeably wind affected. Besides a few small broken plates though, no instabilities were encountered. The mountains around June didn’t seem to be drifting snow as much as near Mammoth and Crowley.

Descending after 1 pm we encountered soft but heavy turns and some slow snow at lower angles - warm temp wax would have been nice. Roller balls came off our ski tracks and we even had some gloping as we navigated the flats back to the forest road.

All in all a beautiful day in the mountains especially considering the high winds across the crest.

Signs of Unstable Snow