Wet snow and upper elevation wind slabs on Jakes Peak.

Location Name: 
Jakes Peak
Region: 
West Shore Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 03/05/2016 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 58' 3.792" N, 120° 7' 8.292" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Whumphing noises, shooting cracks, or collapsing
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Wet snow was present from the trailhead at around 6,800' up to the summit at 9,200'. New snow amounts from last night ranged from 0 cm at the trail head to 4 to 8 cm in the 7,500' to 7,800' range to 15 to 20 cm in the 8,200' to 9,200' elevation range. Wet snow was skier supportable with boot penetration of up to 15 cm. The basic upper snowpack structure consisted of wet snow at the old/new snow interface, lower density, relatively drier storm snow above that, with higher density, wetter storm snow on the surface. In areas of wind slab along the summit ridge, 4F+ hard slabs sat on top of a F hard storm snow weak layer. Wind slabs were fairly stubborn and difficult to trigger. Loose wet avalanches were easily triggered in wind protected areas (see avalanche observation).

Photo 1: Natural roller balls off the summit of Jakes Peak ~9,200'.

Photo 2: Skier supportable wet snow at ~7,600'.

Photos 3 & 4: Skier triggered wind slab cracking up to 2 m long along the summit ridge at noted lat/long.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snow level was observed at around 7,900' in this area at 11 am.