Minor Wind Slabs and Heavy Snow on Andesite Ridge

Location Name: 
Andesite Ridge
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 03/01/2014 - 13:35
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 0.072" N, 120° 21' 54.9216" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Whumphing noises, shooting cracks, or collapsing
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

6 inches of dense and warm snow existed at the top of the snowpack in this area today. Below this most recent snow another 8-9 inches of dense snow from Wednesday night existed. Some softer layers of snow still remain below the more dense layers in the recent snow.

In near and above treeline terrain wind slabs did exist on on the wind loaded N-NE aspects. A ski cut on a previously undercut wind loaded 37 degree test slope did release a 6-8 wind slab (see photo). This slope is at the coordinates attached to this observation.

In below treeline areas, settlement cones around trees and underfoot settlement indicated that the recent snow is quickly consolidating.

Snowpit tests, hand pits, pole probes, ski cuts on test slopes, and general observations all yielded stable results on non wind loaded near and below treeline N-NE-E aspects. The snowpit data from 3 general locations (near 39.354343, -120.365696; near 39.3496, -120.3612; and near 39.3449, -120.3551) showed similar stratigraphy and results to the snowpit attached to this observation. Several ECTN results were recorded at each of these locations (see video - note the difficulty with which Nick eventually pulls the block off).

These obs were collected with the the help of students in the AvPro course being held in the area.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

IMG 1443

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
Snow
Wind Direction: 
Northwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour