Observations from Trimmer

Location Name: 
Trimmer Peak
Region: 
Luther Pass Area (including Job and Freel)
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 01/10/2013 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 52' 46.83" N, 119° 55' 47.4528" 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: 

~10cm of new snow on NW aspect approach route to 8200ft, and 15-20cm of new snow on N aspect Trimmer "Elevens" from 9200ft to 8000ft. Mitt pits showed a previous crust under new snow on NW and N aspects away from ridgetops, and a previous wind crust/slab under new snow below N aspect ridgetop. A weak layer of partially faceted grains was observed consistently under both the previous crust and under the wind slab, with limited evidence of propagation potential.

At provided lat/long: Dec 12th facets observed at 170cm and both Dec 12th and Dec 2nd facets gaining strength, with some angles still visible but grain to grain bonds forming. At 35cm down, on partially faceted layer below wind slab: 2x ECTP moderate and 2x ECTN moderate, 2x CTM SP, and 2x PST100/100. HS of 260cm

Pic 1: Loose dry on steep test slope consistent with other infomal observations.

Pic 2: Cracking below previous surface crust on test slope that was undercut by skin track. Only one such instance observed.

No evidence of wind transport of new snow observed today.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

At 2pm, moderate NE winds brought 100% cloud cover and S1 precip including large 2mm graupel. This appeared to break upon our departure at 3pm.