Minimal New Snow at Echo

Location Name: 
Ralston E
Region: 
Echo Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 04/13/2011 - 16:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 49' 50.0916" N, 120° 5' 29.8068" 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: 

Pic: A little hard to capture with lighting, but N aspects of Becker, Talking, and Ralston all showed previous surface features (refrozen roller balls, old debris, old crowns, and melt runnels) under 10 to 15cm of new snow. Although the occasional pocket of 25cm wind blown new snow was encountered, no areas were observed with continuous enough deposition to be of concern. Sluffs were easy to initiate on steep slopes, but minimal snow became entrained. No new slab formation observed.

Video: Moderate W wind observed throughout the afternoon, but wind deposited snow bonded well to old crusts and remained unconsolidated without signs of significant slab formation.

 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
West
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snowfall intensity seemed to peak at .5"/hr between 3pm and my departure at 5:30pm.