Observations from Blue Lakes

Location Name: 
Blue Lakes Rd
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 02/11/2017 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 38' 43.5588" N, 119° 55' 12.3816" 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
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Snowpit photo: NE aspect near pin drop. Just under 100cm of "right-side-up" storm snow on top of thick layer of Very Wet snow (water visible to naked eye). Primary concern was a storm instability observed 15cm from the surface, shown by Shovel Tilt, CT and hand shears. ECT did not propagate. However, as we moved higher in elevation and closer to treeline with more wind effect, this instability became more of a concern as we saw recent small avalanches and shooting cracks consistent with this layer height.

Pic 1: Steep test slope did not show any cracking. We added several more cuts to this slope with no signs of instability. On other test slopes, we were able to produce minor shooting cracks and sluffing by stacking cuts on top of each other.

Pic 2: Signs of settlement within storm snow.

Pic 3 and 4: Very small human triggered avalanche consistent with other observations, and a shooting crack less than 20cm deep.

Pic 4: Large holes opening up in creeks. Several open creeks observed 300cm+ below snow surface, and riding into one would likely cause injury and a difficult to extract machine.

 

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Northeast
Accumulation rate: 
None