Observations from Elephant's Back

Location Name: 
Elephant's Back
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 09:30
Location Map: 
United States
38° 40' 49.4508" N, 119° 58' 59.5056" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Photo 1: Sun crust observed inconsistently on all aspects below treeline. May have protected snow available for wind transport, resulting in observed uneven distribution of windloaded snow.

 

Photo 2: Wind transport in Ebbett's Pass area. At Carson Pass, winds began moderate at treeline and strong on ridgetops, increasing to strong at treeline by 9:45AM.

 

Photo 3: Test pit dug on NE aspect 30 degree slope adjacent to this previous (+/-48hrs) crown.

 

Photo 4: Results from ECTP11 Q2.

 

Video: ECTP13 Q2 on same interface.

 

Layer ID was challenging due to blowing snow, but the 15cm pencil hard wind slab failed on top of a 10cm fist hard layer of DFs and PPs. The adjacent avalanche may have fractured on the same interface. The fist hard layer appeared to be bonding well to a 4F to 1F layer below. No evidence of the Feb 19th crust was seen here - but again, conditions were poor for real pit work.

 

Wind slab was very supportive to skis here, and no cracking or collapse was observed, though I chose not to travel farther into this slope. Several test slopes near Frog Lake had similar stratigraphy but softer wind slab, with no failures or fractures from ski cutting.

Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

 

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
West
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Wind near Frog's Lake just before 9AM At 9:45AM winds at treeline increased to strong, and S1+ precip began falling, further reducing visibility and ending my observations.