Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

We toured up to the east shoulder of Dunderberg peak with the goal of getting outside and skiing some mellow terrain. A large snowdrift was blocking the road a mile or so up from 395, but as we skinned up the road a plow came through and cleared the road. In the protected trees near the junction of Virginia Lakes road and Dunderberg Meadow Rd we experienced some whumpfing. Above the road the snow surface was a mixture of firm edgeable windboard and dense powder.

A pit on a wind affected 20 degree east facing aspect, 9700' revealed 56CM HS, with the upper half being 3 layers of dense slab and the lower half sugary unconsolidated facets. A column failed when isolated with the facets unable to support the upper slab layers. The skiing was variable, and my skis found a few rocks on the way down.

No signs of avalanches were observed on the neighboring peaks. Evidence of wind transport such as textured snow surfaces and stripped areas were widespread in the area.

Signs of Unstable Snow