These observations document past conditions at a small and variable scale. They are not to be confused with an avalanche forecast. They come from a variety of sources. We can only vouch for the quality of those produced by the SAC forecasters and professional observers.
Date and time of observation or avalanche occurrence Location Media Observation made by
04/01/2023 - 15:21
Snowpack Observation 		Johnson Canyon
Donner Summit Area 		Public
04/02/2023 - 09:15
Snowpack Observation 		Meiss Meadow
Carson Pass Area 		Public
04/02/2023 - 15:00
Snowpack Observation 		Andesite Peak
Mount Rose Area 		Graupel on a thin crust at the base of the wind slabs. Blowing snow building larger cornices and adding to wind slabs. Ripples on the snow surface in near treeline terrain. Large cornices on Andesite Ridge Forecaster
04/03/2023 - 14:03
Snowpack Observation 		Rubicon Peak
West Shore Area 		Ski kicks triggered shooting cracks on wind-loaded slopes in near treeline terrain. Ski kicks triggered shooting cracks on wind-loaded slopes in near treeline terrain. Blowing snow near the summit of Rubicon Clouds, snow and wind stuck around all day. Bursts of snow produced graupel throughout the day. About 3 inches of snow on top of a crust near the trailhead. Forecaster
04/03/2023 - 15:00
Snowpack Observation 		Frog Lake Ridge
Carson Pass Area 		Cracking on a wind loaded test slope Cracks on test slopes failed near the surface, and also at the new/old interface down almost 2 feet More cracking on a wind loaded test slope The leeward side of Elephant's Back was obscured by wind blown snow Big cornices along Frog Lake Ridge Graupel as new snowfall Professional Observer
04/04/2023 - 12:00
Snowpack Observation 		Tamarack Peak
Mount Rose Area 		Skier triggered cracking in wind-drifted snow on a SW aspect on Tamarack Peak. Large cornices above NE and N facing slopes on Tamarack Peak ECTN results on a wind-loaded test slope on Tamarack Peak. Forecaster
04/04/2023 - 16:00
Snowpack Observation 		Kingsbury
East Shore Area 		Numerous crusts within the top 2ft of snow. My 300cm probe was not touching the ground. Very smooth and planar surfaces remaining after removing the failed ECT columns Professional Observer
04/05/2023 - 09:00
Snowpack Observation 		Tamarack
Mount Rose Area 		Public
04/05/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Castle Peak
Donner Summit Area 		A cornice piece dropped on this sunny SE-facing slope produced a small wind-slab failure mixed with a sluff of wet snow. These cornice pieces caused a small sluff of wet snow on the slope below. Scoured and wind-sculpted surfaces on the ridge and on NW aspects. ECTN on a wind-loaded N-facing test slope. The upper snowpack was a mix of wet snow, melt-freeze crusts, and still cold dry snow. Surface hoar had started to flatten amd melt on sunny slopes by 3 pm. Forecaster
04/06/2023 - 11:00
Snowpack Observation 		Angora Peak
Echo Summit Area 		Absolutely gigantic cornices on Echo Peak Shallow warming on a steep SE slope at 11:00AM. Soft not quite corn on the surface over a firm crust skied well On a more easterly aspect there was impressive evidence of previous avalanche activity. The most roller ball activity we observed was on a NE slope around 1:45pm. Looking back towards Desolation and the coverage is very impressive. Professional Observer
04/06/2023 - 12:00
Snowpack Observation 		Johnson Canyon
Donner Summit Area 		Ski kicks triggered shallow ski width wide sluffs of wet snow at 11:30 am on a SE aspect. Roller balls and pinwheels on an E-NE aspect at noon. Large cornices along ridges looking towards Frog Lake. ECTN on a NE-facing wind-loaded test slope. Forecaster
04/06/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Job's Sister
Luther Pass Area (including Job and Freel) 		Looking uphill at the debris Looking downhill at the debris Public
04/07/2023 - 12:00
Avalanche Observation 		Hidden Peak
West Shore Area 		Shallow wet loose avalanche in NE aspect terrain at 7,800'. Shallow wet loose avalanche in NE aspect terrain at 7,800'. Unreactive wind slab along the summit ridge. Large settlement cones indicating the the snowpack continues to settle faster than ongoing snowfall adds to HS. Forecaster
04/08/2023 - 08:30
Avalanche Observation 		Mt. Tallac
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) 		Public
04/08/2023 - 10:00
Snowpack Observation 		Flagpole Peak
Echo Summit Area 		Looking up at Flagpole Peak. There is a several hundred foot long wet slide off the rock buttress to the left of Flagpole Peak that appeared to have happened yesterday. Checking ski penetration vs boot penetration on an open south east aspect at about 6600 feet at 9:30AM. ~ 1 cm ski pen and 10 cms boot pen On NE open aspect at about 6700' at 9:35 there was crust that was mostly breakable to boot pen (5 cm boot pen) but totally supportable to ski pen. In the trees at the base of Flagpole at about 9:45, snow was mushy and boot pen was ~ 20 cms with ~4 cm ski pen. Classic dark rock wet loose activity near the base of Flagpole from yesterday. The rarely seen melt freeze reverse skin track. Very little new snow accumulated on Flagpole. This was one of the deeper areas I encountered with 1-2 inches. Looking towards Ralston and Pyramid. The old large crowns on Ralston are still quite visible. This is about 100 feet below the summit and the old skin track highway from yesterday is still visible. Some shallow loose wet slide activity as a result of a ski turn at 11:00AM. Professional Observer

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