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Fresh wind slabs and obs from Castle/Andesite

Location Name: Castle Pass / Andesite peak Region: Donner Summit Area Observation Date & Time: Sunday, February 24, 2019 - 12:45
Location: 39.360220, -120.363960 See map: CalTopo	Is this an Avalanche Observation?: No Conditions Alerts: Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing) Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing)›Shooting Cracks Recent Loading Recent Loading›Blowing Snow

Observation made by: Educator at Tahoe Mountain School

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Observation

Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions:

Toured up to castle pass today to ID some wind slabs and find some quality skiing with the clients. Snowfall throughout the day was on and off, S-1 at highest rates. Strong S-SW winds were noticable at trailhead and blowing snow was observed. Most notable obs for the day were the sensivity of these newly formed wind slabs. Hard to tell from the picture in this post but with each kick test we had shooting cracks up to a meter+ and were reactive-touchy in sensitivity. Depth of these wind slabs were 15-30cm.

kick test on SE aspect off castle pass

Weather Details

Elevation of Observation:

7000 - 8000 ft.

Blowing Snow:

Moderate

Wind Direction:

South

Wind Speed:

Strong

Sky Cover:

Broken - Mostly Cloudy - more than 4/8 and less than 8/8

Highest Precipitation Rate:

Very Light Snowfall (S-1 = up to .5cm /~.25 in per hour)

Precipitation:

Snow

Air temperature:

Below Freezing

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Fresh wind slabs and obs from Castle/Andesite

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Fresh wind slabs and obs from Castle/Andesite

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