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 Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images Observation made by
03/30/2023 - 12:00
Avalanche Observation 		Mt. Judah and Trestle Peak
Donner Summit Area 		Dropping cornice blocks onto wind sloaded slopes did not produce additional signs of unstable wind slabs. Large pieces of cornice dropped on this test slope did not trigger any wind slab failures. The cornices along the summit Ridge of Mt. Judah were massive. We stayed well away from them. ski cuts triggered rollerballs and pinwheels on sunny slopes by midday. One of several snowpit tests at various locations targeting the old buried weak layers. None of them produced unstable results. Recent storm slab avalanches on lower Trestle peak. Cloud cover building over the mountains around noon. Forecaster
03/30/2023 - 10:10
Avalanche Observation 		Tallac
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) 		Public
03/29/2023 - 13:07
Snowpack Observation 		Near Webber lake
Little Truckee Summit Areas 		Public
03/29/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Powderhouse Peak
Luther Pass Area (including Job and Freel) 		Small sluff on a steep above tree line test slope Small crack on undercut above tree line test slope Hard to see in the photo, but there is a large crown in center of image on north bowl of Stevens Peak Multiple tracks along the corniced summit ridge but I didn't observe any cracks or slabs triggered There were a couple incredibly deep tree wells next to the skin track. Professional Observer
03/29/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Silver Peak
Cabin Creek, Deep Creek, or Pole Creek Area 		when I stepped onto this wind-loaded area on a low angle slope, I triggered shooting cracks the traveled 20+ ft out onto the larger slope. Skier triggered cracking in a wind-loaded test slope. Blowing snow refilled our tracks on the ridge after about an hour. The weather oscillated between snow showers and calm periods with breaks of sun. Some cracking that occured in a sheltered area where the thin sun crust below the new snow broke and collapsed on softer snow below it. Forecaster
03/29/2023 - 12:00
Avalanche Observation 		Blue Lakes
Carson Pass Area 		Previous and current winds were sculpting the surface snow The grey stripe is a light crust with weak snow next to it Surface hoar remaining intact and reactive to snowpack tests Surface hoar remaining intact and reactive to snowpack tests Wind loaded test slopes did not produce results Professional Observer
03/28/2023 - 16:45
Avalanche Observation 		Echo Peak
Echo Summit Area 		Public
03/28/2023 - 15:40
Snowpack Observation 		Tahoe Mountain Guide
Blackbird Mountain Guides
03/28/2023 - 11:30
Avalanche Observation 		Lincoln Ridge
Yuba Pass Area 		Small reactive wind slab failures. Small reactive wind slab failures on test slopes. Small wind slab avalanche on small slope near ridgeline. Intense blowing snow in near treeline terrain. Cracking around skis on uptrack showing storm slab instability. ECTN on layers down to the March 14 rain layer. Forecaster
03/27/2023 - 15:30
Avalanche Observation 		Cindercone
Blackwood Canyon or Ward Canyon Area 		Public
03/27/2023 - 15:00
Snowpack Observation 		The Nipple
Carson Pass Area 		Unstable test results three days after the avalanche, and current wind loading Professional Observer
03/27/2023 - 12:20
Avalanche Observation 		Tallac East Bowl North and Cross
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) 		Public
03/27/2023 - 11:45
Snowpack Observation 		Mt. Judah
Donner Summit Area 		Cracking only when undercut of a section of 4F to 1F hardness slab over F hard graupel. ECTN results on multiple graupel layers. CTN result on buried surface hoar. Some minor cornice failure entraining 1 inch of surface snow. Forecaster
03/27/2023 - 11:30
Avalanche Observation 		Isolated Convexity between Little Alaska and Twin Peaks
Blackwood Canyon or Ward Canyon Area 		Public
03/26/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Blue Lakes
Carson Pass Area 		North facing surface hoar, 8300 feet Public
03/26/2023 - 13:00
Snowpack Observation 		Incline Lake Peak
Mount Rose Area 		Cornice pieces dropped on wind-loaded test slopes did not produce additional signs of instability. ECTN on a wind-loaded test slope with buried graupel and surface hoar. Ski cuts on a sheltered N facing test slope that had previously avalanched cause last night's snow to sluff off of the firm old snow surface. A previous avalanche covered up by last night's 2-4 inches of snow on a sheltered N facing test slope. Cloud cover starting to build around 1:30 pm. Forecaster
03/26/2023 - 12:00
Snowpack Observation 		Meiss
Carson Pass Area 		Convective clouds produced 2" of new snowfall A test slope that didn't propagate wide, but ran downhill into low angle terrain A test slope that propagated wider than expected, but didn't run far downhill Graupel above firm snow, not reactive to ECTs but a PST indicated propagation was likely Professional Observer
03/25/2023 - 13:00
Avalanche Observation 		Donner Peak north side
Donner Summit Area 		Public
03/25/2023 - 12:25
Avalanche Observation 		North Maggie's
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) 		Public
03/25/2023 - 12:00
Snowpack Observation 		Red Lake Peak
Carson Pass Area 		Conditions from the trailhead were varied with cold snow in the shade and sun crust on solar exposed terrain. Small cornice failure test slope that produced no wind slab instabilities. Wind striping as we approached above treeline terrain. Quick ECTN looking for instabilities on a similar slope to yesterday's avalanche. We found multiple density layer changes in the top 35cm including several graupel layers. Old crowns in the bowl below Red Lake Peak ECT at the location of yesterday's avalanche. Wind slab that failed in yesterdays avalanche. Crown depth was deeper with the increased wind deposition further downslope. Skier triggered avalanche reported 3/24. Professional Observer

Pages