State of the Snowpack for 3/27/2023 - 4/3/2023

Submitted by travis on Fri, 03/31/2023 - 14:22
Dates of the Week: 
3/27/2023 to 4/3/2023

Central Sierra Nevada / Lake Tahoe Snowpack, Weather, and Avalanche Observations for California and Nevada from SAC

Date and time of observation or avalanche occurrence Location Region Observation Type Photos Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Videos Snowpit videos (tests, etc) Observation made by
03/31/2023 - 13:00 Castle peak Donner Summit Area Avalanche Observation Public
03/31/2023 - 13:00 Incline Lake Peak Mount Rose Area Snowpack Observation Firm wind slabs with small localized cracking, but no signs of propagation. Light wind scouring and wind crusts on N aspects a few hundred feet below ridgeline. Very large cornices still exist along ridgelines in this area. Still some soft snow along ridgelines for future wind transport. Beautiful sunny day with some thin high clouds and some clouds over the west slope. Forecaster
03/31/2023 - 12:00 Little Alaska Blackwood Canyon or Ward Canyon Area Avalanche Observation Public
03/31/2023 - 10:00 Flagpole Peak Echo Summit Area Snowpack Observation Open east facing slopes around 7000 feet had a completely supportable crust at 9:00AM There were several large old wet loose slides on and adjacent to Flagpole. At the time I took this photo there were plumes of wind driven snow swirling around the summit and over the old wet loose debris. On a more NE aspect at about 7500 feet there was still nearly a foot of cold powdery snow. Looking towards Ralston. The winds were strong near the summit and blowing moderate amounts of snow. The SE side of this generally E facing gully had evidence of previous wet loose activity that ran for nearly 1000 feet. Professional Observer
03/30/2023 - 13:30 Eureka Peak Outside of the Forecast Area Avalanche Observation Public
03/30/2023 - 12:30 Hidden Peak West Shore Area Avalanche Observation Built out cornices and ridgeline with small wind slab avalanches. Small reactive wind slabs failing with a ski kick. Small reactive ski kicks failing with a ski kick. 8"+ of low density snow along ridgeline available for transport if winds increase tonight and tomorrow. Snowpack tests did not find any layers of concern at noted Lat/Long in ob. 8000' on NE aspect. View into Desolation Wilderness for a very impressive snowpack. Some roller balls and point releases can be seen in the photo. Sun crusts forming on sun exposed slopes, E-SE aspects. Forecaster
03/30/2023 - 12:00 Blue lakes Carson Pass Area Snowpack Observation Public
03/30/2023 - 12:00 Mt. Judah and Trestle Peak Donner Summit Area Avalanche Observation 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 - 12:00 Mt. Rose Mount Rose Area Snowpack Observation Public
03/30/2023 - 12:00 Peak 9200 aka "Whites Creek Butte" Outside of the Forecast Area Avalanche Observation Public
03/30/2023 - 10:10 Tallac Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) Avalanche Observation Public
03/29/2023 - 13:07 Near Webber lake Little Truckee Summit Areas Snowpack Observation Public
03/29/2023 - 13:00 Powderhouse Peak Luther Pass Area (including Job and Freel) Snowpack Observation 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 Silver Peak Cabin Creek, Deep Creek, or Pole Creek Area Snowpack Observation 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 Blue Lakes Carson Pass Area Avalanche Observation 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

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