Corn, Crusts and old wet slides on South Jakes

Location Name: 
South Jakes
Region: 
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay)
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 02/13/2016 - 09:35
Location Map: 
United States
38° 57' 43.938" N, 120° 6' 59.6592" W
US


Red Flags: 
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path

Observation made by: Guide at Alpenglow Expeditions
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Well developed corn cycle on the south facing aspect of Jakes this morning. Strong refreeze last night started to soften by 8:45AM, and by 9:45AM there was 2-4cm's of soft, wet snow on solar aspects between 8-9,000'. There have been several good sized wet slides in this zone (R1-D2), all originating on steep, S-SW aspects. They apear to have occured 3-4 days ago, during the inititial big warm up. The debris, along with a multitude of deep ski tracks had not softened as of 10AM. 

Photo#1- Wet slide, approx 3-4 days old, SW facing start zone 

Photo #2- Approx 2-4 cm wet snow on S aspect, 8,600', 10AM

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

Warm temps today, with dead calm wind