Highly Variable Snow Conditions on Donner Pass

We toured from Donner Pass up to Mt. Judah today to look at snow coverage and conditions.  A thin snowpack exists throughout this area showing the rocky nature of the terrain.  Firm snow exists on the standard accent route below 7500' with many obstacles present.  We took our skis off a couple times to avoid firm or rocky terrain features.  Above 7500' the snow coverage improves, but exposed terrain has seen wind scouring providing variable conditions.  Some soft snow was found in below treeline northerly terrain, but that was limited.  In general, more snow coverage is needed to provide a useable snowpack for over the snow recreation.