Snowpit from Donner area

Location Name: 
Donner Lake Run
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 03/31/2010 - 16:50
Location Map: 
United States
39° 18' 55.9476" N, 120° 18' 17.7408" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Photo 1: Noticed a couple of point release slides on N slopes above test site. There were similar slides on the same northern facing slope.

A weak layer was found 5cm from the top of the snowpack, and failed on CT1 . This seemed to be the layer that failed in the point release slides.

Photo 2: A snowpit test was conducted and found a trouble layer 46cm down from the top of the snowpack. Graupel was found and seems to be what was associated with this weak layer; this layer failed with a score of 23 during a column test.

 

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

MVI_6449.MOV

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

 Snow showers were frequent off and on throughout the day. Only prior to the observation did any precipitation fall.