Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Key Points

• Since I haven’t had the opportunity to go up Lundy Canyon yet this season, I headed there today under beautiful clear skies with some periods of high cloud. With continued firm and variable conditions and the lack of much warming today, I once again headed for sheltered areas to try to be kind to the knees and back.
• It is still quite nice how even after 6 weeks of no new snow, one still can find some soft faceted surface snow within sheltered terrain below 9300ft or so. That is about all the interesting news I really have as avalanche conditions are null and void, there is really no transportable snow existing, and much of the east side landscape is stripped down to the bones.
• It was mild with a temperature of 29degF at 1130am @ 9600 ft with sporadic light NE breezes.
• Massive surface hoar development (1-3cm) along drainages with significant, but smaller crystal sizes (~3mm-5mm) covering many sheltered slopes 8500ft and below.
• Ski penetration averaged around 5-15cm on shady, non-sun affected surfaces above 9000ft, with boot penetration averaging from 25-40cm in some places.
• Average snowpack depths averaged 1-2feet in depth in the flats and sunny aspects with upwards of 4 feet on northerly sheltered terrain above 9000ft. Shallow depth snows are almost completely faceted through and where textured can provide good skiing amongst the sage brush. Westerly and southerly aspects are primarily rock with couloirs still holding snow on the north side of Lundy Canyon.