Observations from Elephant's Back

Location Name: 
Elephant's Back
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 11/20/2010 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 40' 50.4084" N, 119° 59' 0.06" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

S2 snow today at 13:00 at Elephant's Back, winds mod to strong from 220 degrees, air temp -7c, tsurf t10 and t20 all -8c.

Below treeline, very little wind effect - all trees still held snow in branches and test slopes were active but only loose and only just below my skis - no propagation. Ski pen boot top to knee deep.

At and above treeline, totally diff story - big drifts, some very localized cracking, and highly variable snow cover - from wind scoured old snow to deep enough I went the other way.

Several informal tests showed 2 failure layers, both very easy to easy, but always Q3. First was a lighter density below the F hard surface at 80cm, the other was a change from F to 4f at 65cm. One ECT on E Back proper failed upon isolation at 65cm - still Q3 though. Bonding between old / new appears quite strong. 70cm of new on 25cm old on windloaded E Back proper.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Greater than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: