Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

Skied the East Face of Mt. Morrison today, in pretty excellent spring conditions. Left the car at 7:05, with a strong refreeze in place all the way down to Convict Lake. Travel was very supportable the entire way and quick. I chose to climb and ski the skier’s left side of the face, where it tilts slightly to the southeast. It had clearly been through several melt-freeze cycles, and made for excellent cramponing. Topped out at 10:40, and boot penetration was still only a few cm. Despite the relatively cool temperatures, it felt quite hot on the face, and there was no wind at all, except on the summit, where there was a light NW breeze. Waited till 11:15 and dropped. All parts of the slope that had that slight SE aspect were excellent, almost fully ripe corn. Where it was more true east, or even slightly NE, was still firm. Once I got back to the valley, the less steep slopes had not softened at all, on any aspects by 1140, even all the way back to the car.

Of note today were several glide cracks down low on Mono Jim, as well as a large old crown on the ridge a few hundred yards south of the summit. Not sure of the age, but there was newer wet debris on the bed surface. There was no obvious debris pile from this slide, but there were several loose wet debris piles from the last few days.

Signs of Unstable Snow