Observations from Tallac

Location Name: 
Cathedral bowl
Region: 
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay)
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 02/07/2018 - 10:49
Location Map: 
United States
38° 53' 48.4008" N, 120° 5' 34.224" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Observation made by: Guide at Tahoe Mountain School
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Cold unconsolidated snow existed on sheltered north facing aspects. Corn snow existed on south facing aspects due to many melt-freeze cycles. HS in this area varied dramatically depending elevation and aspect. No signs of instability observed.  

Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

 

Hiked the cathedral lake summer trail in approach shoes up to 8k. Little snow existed on trail. Ski pen was 10cm when skiing SE chute at 10:30. Perfect spring conditions exist on southern aspects with appropriate timing. 

Photo 1: Two things to mention in this photo. First, you can see old avalanche activity from the January 24th - 25th cycle. Second, a great representation of how different snow surfaces can be from NE to SE. (Cold snow N, corn snow S)

Photo 2: cathedral bowl - notice how large these cornices are despite low snow year. 

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
East
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

Little to no wind on top of tallac today. Much different than the strong east winds yesterday.