Overperforming snow totals in the Andesite / Castle area

Before heading out into the field we checked weather radar, remote weather sensors, and webcams. The most intense part of the storm looked to be centered over the northern part of the forecast area. We decided that the Castle Peak area would afford us the best opportunity to see any potential wind-loading and/or possibly more than forecasted new snow amounts. On arrival at the parking area, wind and snow totals appeared to be in alignment with the forecast. Overnight snow totals were generally 0-1" and today's forecast predicted little additional accumulation with a chance for up to 1 inch of new snow. As we ascended Castle Peak Road, snowfall intensity continued to increase rather than decrease as forecasted. During our tour, we found some areas above 7500 ft with up to 3 inches of new snow and others with about 1.5 inches. The combination of more snow than expected and gale force to strong winds produced more wind slabs than we expected to find. We went to some wind-loaded test slopes and noted drifts up to 10 inches deep, but the wind-drifted snow did not extend very far downslope. The small cornices above these test slopes would crack easily, but the small wind slabs on the slopes below only cracked if we undercut the test slope before we kicked the wind slab. Propagation was limited by the narrow distribution and size of the slabs.

Near the summit of Castle Peak, wind and intense blowing snow limited visibility into the north bowl. Exposed slopes in this area had a variety of wind-affected surfaces ranging from exposed crusts to ridges of wind drifted snow. We moved back into the shelter of the trees and found more consistent snow conditions on the low-angled sheltered terrain. We also dug a couple of test pits to look at the weak snow buried below the surface (Feb 14 facets) and did not see any signs of instability in our tests (ECTN x 2). Snowfall continued into the afternoon but was decreasing in intensity and the cloud ceiling was steadily rising.  Given the meager snow totals ski travel and skiing was surprisingly pleasant. When we returned, we checked the remote weather sensors and webcams again to see if other areas had also experienced more than expected snowfall. It looked like the weather remained true to the forecast in most other places with limited new snow accumulations in most other places.