Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Skinned up to the Red Cone today and across the crest to the Hollywood Bowl. At 1000 @ 9919 ft. T air 0 deg. C , Sky BKN, winds calm, SE aspect Foot Pen 15 cm in the sun, 7 cm in the shade.  2- 3 cm MF crust supportable to skis. Soft snow underneath.

At 1345 10’415 ft. W summit: Winds were blowing at the upper end of the moderate spectrum. We were getting pelted with small ice particles that were stripped from the snow surface by NE winds. Seemed a lot stronger than the 15mph winds and 25 mph gusts. T air in a more sheltered location along the crest was – 3 deg C. Sky OVC with a thin high cirrus cloud cover that became increasingly thicker.

Skied Hollywood Bowl: Supportable but still variable and pretty textured snow surface. Then cut left and skied nice soft re- crystallized pow in open trees down to McLeod Lk.

Solar aspects didn’t soften up except for a small patch of sheltered E facing snow on the way up. I did not see any signs of instability.

Snow Stability