Snowpit on Castle Pass

Location Name: 
Castle Pass
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sun, 12/30/2012 - 12:30
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 27.6372" N, 120° 21' 53.6328" 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: 

Tahoe Backcountry Ski Patrol dug pit on east face of Castle Pass

Shear failure occured at Dec 2 below rain crust layer 5ft down. Sugary snow beneath. Rain crust had bonded to snow above

Compression test produced a failure 8 inches down at 2 elbow blows. The layer rebonded after intial slip

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

www.tbsp.org

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

Gusts to 50MPH higher up Andesite ridge later in the day.