Snowpack at Little Round Top/Meiss Meadows

Traveled today from Carson Pass Sno-park towards the saddle point between the Little Roundtop ridge and Rel Lake Peak ridge. The goal was to access conditions on the S, SW slopes and if the conditions permit travel up to Little Round Top, then either ski the SSW slope or retrace to the starting point. Due to the advisory low angle terrain or higher ground was chosen when possible.

The snow below and near the treeline is cold, dry and loose. I did not observe any cracking at all in the wooded area. Near the treeline some minor cracking, essentially always between the skis was observed whereas, but little signs of cohesive slab formation. Near the saddle point above treeline the snow alternated between patches of hardpack (perhaps scoured to 12/12 crust) and windblown pillows. The depth of the snow transported to local impressions was ut to 2 feet. The windblown pillows near the saddle point and above are 4-8 inches deep.

As I progressed towards the Little Roundtop destination, the weather started deteriorating, turning int kind of a blizzard at the pin drop location at noon, with very poor visibility. The wind direction is ENE to E, moderately strong to strong. During the transition, the skin held at the end was flying almost horizontally.

The bottom line is that as of now the snowpack below and near the treeline is generally benign, with the signs of slab formation above treeline. With the winds strong and steady it is reasonable to expect that the problem will worsen rapidly if the wind direction does not change.