Signs of Wind Transport at Lincoln Ridge

Snow depths in the Yuba Pass area ranged from 2-3 ft (~100 cm) near 6800 ft up to more than 4-5ft (~150 -170cm) in wind-loaded areas along Lincoln Ridge. As we traveled through the lower elevation areas below treeline, settlement cones around the trees indicated that the new snow had settled significantly this week. On the surface, the snow remained cold and soft on most N-NE aspects. Feathery crystals of surface hoar had also formed in most open areas. By the afternoon, the sun-exposed S-SW aspects held some wet surface snow, and the surface hoar on these aspects had mostly melted. There are still lots of bushes, logs, stumps, and rocks, but decent coverage existed in this area for early season. Digging into the snowpack in the sheltered below-treeline areas, we found a mostly right-side-up snowpack with one small density change in the middle of the pack. Refreezing previously wet snow existed near the bottom of the snowpack. Observations and tests indicated good bonding in these areas. 

Once we climbed up the ridge, we found signs of wind-blown snow, including cornices, piles of wind-drifted snow, and ripples and scouring along the ridge. We kicked several small cornice pieces onto wind-loaded slopes. The cornices broke easily, but they did not trigger any signs of instability on the slopes below. Ski cuts on test slopes and snowpit tests on wind-loaded N-NE facing slopes also did not produce any signs of lingering wind-slab instability.