Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Monday 12/13/ 2021:

There were around 5 feet of snow on the ground above 7,000 feet. We have more than doubled our snowpack in the past week with this Atmospheric river event.

We toured up Granite from the Twin Lakes trailhead/association cabin. The snow was fairly supportable for skis (skis only sinking 10 inches) and snowmobiles off-trail, but lurking obstacles are still plentiful. If you hammer the throttle on your sled it will punch through the supportive, upside-down, layer that formed during the latest warmup.

Our snowpack base is weak, and as the upper half forms a harder slab, we may see avalanches that fail on our lower snowpack that is riddled with facets and crusts...snow accumulations are going to be ongoing through Sunday.