Loose wet instabilities at Elephant's Back

Location Name: 
Elephant's Back
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 12/05/2012 - 12:30
Location Map: 
United States
38° 40' 48.54" N, 119° 58' 59.6424" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Pic 1: On test slope along Frog Lake Ridge. Water pooling at the bottom of a few cm of new snow resulted in easy intentional loose wet releases.

Pic 2: Most cornices have already broken off. Those remaining are drooping and ready to break. Remaining cornices were resistant to kicking from a safe stance. The one small piece we cut produced a small, loose wet release consistent with above pic.

Video: At provided lat/long. Very dense, "right side up" snowpack with water pooling at the base of new, less dense snow. 2x ECTN 21 RP on the slush layer of pooled water. Clarification: At 1:00 I refer to natural loose wet activity - this was observed on the steep slops of Elephant's Back, not along Frog Lake Ridge. On Frog Lake Ridge, loose wet activity was observed only via intentional release. No activity was big enough to harm a person.

Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

The SE aspect of Elephant's Back (the "Graveyard" side) was skiing excellently, with 5cm of ski pen in wet, corn-like snow over a consistent supportable crust. Coverage allows descending to 8000ft at Forestdale Creek.

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Rain
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Occasional, very light rain showers observed throughout day, until increase in rainfall upon our departure at 3pm.