Observations from Castle Peak

Location Name: 
Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Tue, 11/01/2016 - 11:15
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 52.5348" N, 120° 21' 38.7648" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

Castle Rd approach to Castle Pass holds ~6 in of rapidly settling snowcover with numerous open areas of water on the Rd within the first mile. Further along the Rd at around 7,500', snowpack increases to 1 to 1.5 feet and is very supportable. Around 8,200' on northerly aspects the snowpack is composed entirely of storm snow from Oct 30 - Nov 1 and is around 1.5 to 2 feet deep. Informal observations and formal snowpit tests did not reveal any signs of instability.

Photo 1 - Conditions on Castle Rd within the first mile.

Photo 2 - Supportable coverage on the ridge, just north of Castle Pass.

Photo 3 - Supportable snow cover in wind protected area on N aspect around 8,200'.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
More detailed information about the weather: 

Thin fog going towards partly cloudy conditions