No red flags.
Observation: Summit
Location: Tenderfoot Ridge
Ascended west ridge to 3200′. Intent was to inventory surface conditions in anticipation of a shift in weather this weekend. Also looking to get a sense for the reactivity of the New Years buried surface hoar and the Thanksgiving facets, and the presence / properties of a slab above these layers.
Observer Comments
Weather
Broken clouds, temps in the upper teens, calm winds below treeline, light northerly winds at ridgetops. No precip.
Snow surface
Surface hoar at all aspects and elevations sitting on faceted snow. Surface hoar ranges from 6-9mm feathers below 2000' to 3-4mm wedges above 2500'. The New Years melt freeze crust (the crust nearest the surface) has faceted out significantly.
Snowpack
The most significant change in the snowpack over the last week is the marked faceting. For example, in the meadows at 1800', a week ago one could push their pole grip all the way to the ground with moderate force. Now one can push their pole basket to the ground with moderate force, showing that the numerous crusts in the snowpack have faceted out.
Hand pits at 1800' were failing with easy force below the New Years melt freeze crust on 6-9mm buried surface hoar (see photos).
We dug in 3 locations:
2700'
West Aspect, 23* Slope, HS=55cm
CT11 SC on 3mm depth hoar, ECTX
2900'
North Aspect, 22* Slope, HS=45cm
CT16 PC, ECTN18, down ~30cm on 1-2mm facets sandwiched between decomposing crusts, ECTX
3100'
SSW Aspect, 30* Slope, HS=65cm
CT2, CT3, CT7 SP, ECTP23, ECTP29, PST 30/100 END down 45 on 2-3mm Thanksgiving facets sitting above a basal crust
Hand Pit at 1800'. Buried surface hoar layer is the "thin gray line". Failures were on this layer with easy force.
Surface hoar at 1800'.
Pit at 3100 ft. Consistent propagation and easy CT results on Thanksgiving facet layer.
Patches of sunshine, reasonable temps, and light wind made for a beautiful day in the Summit area.
Significant wind stripping along most ridgelines on the west side of the road.
Upper Fresno still has thin coverage.
View looking towards the Gilpatricks.