24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 22" Depth at Gold Basin: 12"
Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: S 18 G30 Temp: 34° F
Weather
Under cloudy skies, it is 34°F in Gold Basin this morning. Winds are moderate, blowing out of the southwest. Temperatures at 10,000 feet will drop to the upper 20s°F, and winds will remain moderate out of the SW with strong gusts in the 30 MPH range. Snowfall is expected to begin early this morning. The heaviest precipitation rates will occur overnight and into early Friday morning. I am still optimistic for 3 to 6 inches of total snow. A ridge of high pressure builds on Saturday with sunny skies and warm temperatures. This ridge is short-lived as some anomalous moisture moves in on Sunday with passing high clouds and a low chance of light snow showers. We're watching a low-pressure system off the Pacific Northwest, which will bring our next chance for snow on Monday.
General Conditions
I toured up to Gold Basin on Tuesday and found dust on crust conditions. There was almost 1 inch of recent snow capping the melt-freeze crust from Christmas Day. Sadly, this is the best skiing I have had in a while. The melt-freeze crust and rain crust below it allowed for easy travel both uphill and down. The mountains should get a decent refresh today. There may be a few inches of new snow on the ground by this afternoon and even more tomorrow morning. Keep in mind that many south-facing slopes are bare and unskiable. Polar aspects still hold 12 to 24 inches of snow.
The danger rose has been full green since December 10th, with no avalanche problems listed. This afternoon, we will develop our first avalanche problem in quite some time in the form of wind-drifted snow. Expect slabs of wind-drifted snow to form on leeward slopes above treeline. Like all storms this season, this one is difficult to forecast, and I am a little unsure of the timing. One thing that's for sure is that new snow and wind create wind slabs. Pay attention to changing conditions, and it will be easy to avoid any avalanche problems today.
Check out Eric's video from his fieldwork on Monday.
Snowpack and Weather Data
