Drizzly day on Mt. Lola.

We rode snowmobiles up to the Far NE ridge of Mt. Lola today. Skies were broken along Hwy 89 north of Truckee. Light rain was visible off to the west and we quickly encountered it on the approach to Mt. Lola.  Light rain had wetted the top 4 to 5 inches of the snowpack. Increased moisture was present in the entire 2 to 3 foot deep snowpack but it had not been percolated by free water below the top 5 inches. At our high point of travel today at 8,100' air temperatures were above freezing and we were still in the light rain. It felt that we were still a good ways below snow level. Minor rollerballs and pinwheels could be created on the surface wet snow without much difficulty but they stayed small.

Snowpit data revealed substantial rounding of the snowpack at all heights. The Dec 11 layer has metamorphosed into polycrystals of rounded facets at this location. PST results gave a very low likelihood that propagation could still occur along the top of the Dec 11 layer here.