Soft snow, crusts, and melt-freeze snow on Donner Peak

Location Name: 
Donner Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 04/06/2012 - 14:45
Location Map: 
United States
39° 18' 46.2636" N, 120° 19' 10.1136" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

3-5 inches of soft snow existed on the snow surface on the N-NE aspects on Donner Peak today. This soft snow sat on top of a crust on most slopes; however, on the most shaded N aspects this crust was less noticeable. In wind loaded areas 4-10 inches of snow existed above the crusts. Ski cuts on steep wind loaded test slopes, hand pits, and snowpit tests all indicated a stable snowpack. Some weakness still existed in the upper 1-2 ft of the snowpack; however, propagation tests showed that fractures traveling along these weaknesses has become unlikely (see video).

On the SE-S-SW aspects, 2-3 inches of wet snow existed on top of a firm melt freeze crust as of 3 pm (see photo). No wet snow instabilities were observed in this area.

Snowpack photos: 
Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

2012-04-06-Donner 001.MOV

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: