Warm, snowy and windy at Carson Pass

An average of 12" of new snow above yesterday's wet layer on sheltered slopes along Frog Lake Ridge. 24" on wind loaded slopes and as little as 6" on some downwind slopes above Red Lake. Significant current wind transport and brief periods of intense new snowfall observed. Informal tests like mitt pits, shovel tilts, and test slope cuts revealed a moderately reactive density change 6" from the surface. A single ECT did not show propagation was likely, but this test might not have been appropriate given the shallowness of the instability observed with informal tests. Bonding between new snow and yesterday's wet layer appeared good where new snow is deep, but where new snow was shallow, test slopes ran to wet/dry interface.

Pic 1: This slope is a regular producer and often has run naturally during a storm cycle before I get there. The cornice above this slope was overhung and drooping, but new snow on the cornice was too thin to safely drop a significant load onto the slope below. A ski cut produced a shallow slab fracture that did not propagate far, consistent with other observations along Frog Lake Ridge. The wet/dry interface was still well below this failure layer. Slab characteristics dissipated to Dry Loose characteristics, which ran the full path well below the frame of this picture.

Pic 2: Where new snow was shallower, ski cuts produced Dry Loose results at the wet/dry interface. Characteristics just on the cusp of what I'd identify as Wet Loose.