Weekend Observations from Little Truckee Summit

We spent the weekend teaching a motorized Level 2 with Sierra Avalanche Center in the Little Truckee Summit area, this observation is a recap of conditions seen over the last few days. Our weather was consistent, which helped us anticipate timing of slopes softening during days. Cold nights led to solid refreezes, while warm days and calm winds allowed snow on aspects exposed to direct sun to soften during the day. Southerly aspects softened by noon and did not begin to refreeze until they were out of direct sunlight, although since the sun is still low in the sky, slight aspect changes would still remain firm. We found consistently soft snow that allowed for good riding in the 7,000'-8,000' elevation bands on NW-N-NE aspects in areas that harbor cold air, such as lake beds, creeks and small drainages. Near surface faceted grains and large surface hoar were found in most of these areas which attributed to the decent riding conditions. East aspects not protected by trees were mostly wind scoured down to an old rain crust, and West aspects had more breakable and stout sun crust. The class dug multiple pits throughout the course on W-NW-N-NE-E aspects between 7,000'-8,000 to track where near surface/crust facets may exist. The class was able to identify near surface facets and a detetiorating crust in the upper 30cm of the snowpack in most of these locations, beneath these upper layers was a strong, uniform snowpack. We had consistent compression test results on facets 20-30cm down under the deteriorating crust, all tests failed on the same layer. While we had conistent failures of this layer, the failure character was not consistent, some had sudden planar results while others were resistant planar and progressive compression. All extended column tests we performed did not propagate. All though this area was highly variable in terms of snow conditions, we were pleased to find soft snow in sheltered areas. The group was able to travel far distances through the mountains during the course and see a good amount of terrain and track snow conditions in multiple areas. The group saw  a handful of old wind slab and cornice avalanches along the higher ridgelines, but no recent avalanche activity was seen. We did not note any signs of instabilities and our main concern for avalanches was cornices warming during the day.