Tahoe National Forest Sierra Avalanche Center

Warming temps today produced impressive glopping on skins. Open areas on North facing terrain featured noticeably less supportive and more faceted snow than nearby treed areas. Pit dug in open area in otherwise treed location. Snowpack in this location ranged from 60 cms to 35 cms and was just navigable on skis. Echo Lake is mostly open water.

Pit dug in near treeline terrain. Facets appear to becoming increasingly weak as time passes.

Strong to gale force east winds still able to move light to moderate amounts of snow. Some facets were observed above the basal ice but were inconsistent throughout the snowpit.

Pit dug at treeline in area subject to previous loading during SW storm winds.

Pit dug in open area below treeline.

Pit dug on spine in open, complex, near treeline terrain.

New snow amounts up to 15cm in this area. Most of this snow was on top of previously bare ground with the exception of north aspects above 9000' where very limited snow existed.

Pit dug in near treeline terrain.