Corn Snow and Poor Refreeze on Jakes Peak

Location Name: 
Jake's Peak
Region: 
West Shore Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 04/05/2017 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 57' 57.6072" N, 120° 6' 55.1808" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Some areas on the S-SE-E sides of Jakes Peak held boot-top deep wet snow below 8000 ft. by 10 am due to a poor refreeze overnight. Other areas where the refreeze was slightly stronger remained supportable till around 11:30-12:00. By noon, stepping off of one's skis would result in sinking into shin-deep wet snow on the E-SE-S-SW aspects. Above 8000 ft. the refreeze remained more supportable till around 12:00-12:30, but it was rapidly becoming unsupportable. Between 8500 and 7500 ft on E and ESE aspects, skis would sink into wet snow 2-4 inches deep at that time and boots would skin up to ankle-deep in many places and knee-deep in some places. Ski conditions would likely become punchy and the snow completely unsupportable this afternoon. Ski cuts on steep test slopes above 8000 ft. did not trigger loose wet instabilities before 12:30 pm today. 

Photo 1: 2 to 4 inches of corn snow on top of a thin melt-freeze crust on a ESE aspect at 8000 ft. around 11:10 am

Photo 2: Mid-shin deep wet snow on a SE aspect at 12:30 pm at around 7600 ft. The snow here remained just barely ski supportable at this time. We left the area and returned to our vehicle at this time expecting the snow to soon become completely unsupportable. 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Cloud cover clear and the sun quickly came out around 10 am.