Strong winds and blowing snow on Carson Pass

Location Name: 
Carson Pass
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Observation Date & Time: 
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 - 11:54
Location: 
38.703957, -119.992971
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  • MapBuilder Hybrid
  • Forest Service 2016
  • NAIP 2013
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Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
No


Conditions Alerts:



Observation made by: Professional Observer

Tabs

Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

     Toured on the north side of Carson Pass to look at conditions in this area. The first thing that was noticeable was the wind on the drive up. What weak snow is left was blowing off the surrounding peaks. There was clearly transportation of snow traveling west to east, along with swirling tornadoes of snow on the ridge lines. I took a video at the top that you can see below but you can't hear me because of the strong winds. I proceed up and went through a variety of surfaces: hard, soft, supportable and breakable snow from wind, sun and faceting processes. Yesterday when I was out I noticed that old wind effected snow was starting to soften, so I went to investigate some more wind effected areas above 9000' and it was more of the same, even raised ghost tracks were now faceted, weak and soft. I also went to a obvious loaded area to dig my pit to see how deep the facets were in these wind effected/loaded areas. I dug down ~90cms and found a slightly denser snow but still facets were present all the way through to the ice crust at the bottom of the snow pack. Below the crust, the snow was wet and compressible. When riding down I actually looked for wind effect snow as it was softer and more enjoyable then the other surfaces of snow. As I left the area snow was still blowing and transporting around 1300. No instabilities were observed.

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Videos: 

Wind event on Carson Pass

Hide Snowpack Details
Total Snow Depth: 
45cm
Persistent Weak Layers: 
On the surface
Hide Terrain Details
Terrain: elevations: 
Above Treeline
Near Treeline
Terrain: aspects: 
N
NE
E
Hide Weather Details
Elevation of Observation: 
8000 - 9000 ft.
Above 9000 ft.
Blowing Snow: 
Intense
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Sky Cover: 
Few - Mostly Clear - up to 2/8 covered
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
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