Weak snow and Variable Conditions on Mt. Lola

Location Name: 
Mt. Lola
Region: 
Independence Lake Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 12/07/2011 - 13:30
Location Map: 
United States
39° 26' 13.398" N, 120° 21' 9.8496" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Snow conditions varied greatly by aspect and elevation in this area. Above 7000 ft on the northerly aspects 8-20 inches of snow existed. The snowpack on the northerly aspects showed signs of faceting throughout the pack; however, it could support a person on skis. In shaded areas on the northerly aspects the rain crust on the surface had decomposed leaving a "recrystallized" powder surface. On all other aspects the only patchy snow coverage existed above 8000 ft. On the N-NE-E aspects above treeline the snow had been scoured back to a hard ice layer that was the leftover snow from last year.

Photo 1: Slopes scoured back to an ice layer that was left over from last winter's snowpack.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Northeast
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: