Lincoln Ridge snowmo observations.

We planned to avoid cross country travel off of the road system today nonetheless, riding conditions on Yuba pass exceeded expectations given the shallow snowpack and obstacles to hit. We stuck to the road systems and encountered decent riding conditions on the FS 12 road and on the narrower old logging roads in the area. Once above 7,000', the snow was soft enough on N-NE-E aspects to keep the sleds running cool. Even when passing through sunnier areas of melt-freeze, there was always soft snow around the next corner to cool back down. Good conditions if you need to put in some break-in miles.

Near surface facets existed throughout this area on wind protected N-NE aspects at and below treeline. The surface facets were fairly dry, only barely clumping when squeezed in the hand. This is the layer of potential concern for possible future avalanche problems under new snow load. The lower portion of the snowpack in this sub 8,000' riding zone appeared well bonded with a higher moisture content than has been observed in other areas.