Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

Had a great tour today up the June Lake bench, over Fern Creek, and down Devil's Slide. ~6" of fresh powder fell overnight in June Lake, creating some delightful and also challenging conditions. Light winds during the snowfall event made for limited snow transport. Some more exposed rolls on the bench were wind shorn, though no new windboard was present, nor excessive snow loading. A number of hidden air cavities were discovered as my pole slipped several feet into the snow at least a dozen times. In places some slippery crust was concealed by the new power and I found ski crampons to be helpful starting halfway up the bench. Some thin coverage in areas and unpredictable buried layers would make for a tricky ski down the trees. Devil's Slide made for some great turns, though snow varied from wind scoured old crust to fluffy powder, left to right, for the full descent. The runoff area contained some hidden debris under the fresh powder. No signs of instability were observed, other than the stray pinwheel which seems mostly innocent given the lack of loading.

Signs of Unstable Snow