Weather
Under cloudy skies overnight temperatures stayed well above freezing at 10,000'. Warm, breezy, and mostly sunny conditions will prevail today and tomorrow. High temps will be in the mid to upper 40's with overnight lows dipping into the upper 20's. Ridge top winds from the SW will blow in the 15-20 mph range today, increasing by about 10 mph tomorrow. By Sunday night, a Pacific low pushes into the Great Basin bringing us a chance for a few inches of snow on Monday.
General Conditions
With the lack of an overnight re-freeze, any aspirations for finding corn should be put on hold. Punchy, unsupportable conditions this morning will become wet and sloppy fairly quickly and there aren't many objectives worth pursuing today. I wish I could say we were set up for a great spring season, but in my travels yesterday I was a little dismayed at how quickly things had turned. It felt more like mid-May out there than April. The snow surface is dirty, wind affected, and is disappearing fast on some south facing slopes. For the intrepid, dedicated seekers, smooth, corn-like conditions can be found, primarily on SE-S-SW aspects near treeline and below, but this is dependent on a good, overnight freeze. Other than that, you are pretty hard pressed to find good turns out there. Maybe the Monday storm will freshen things up a bit.
Got dirt? These are the best conditions I could find out there yesterday. It was smooth and fun, but without a freeze last night, you'll need to wait until tomorrow.
Overall, conditions are deteriorating with lots of dirty, textured snow and rapidly developing thin spots.
Conditions on Mount Tukuhnikivatz or Tuk (pronounced touque). Many folks this time of year set their sites on this iconic mountain. If you are set on going up, be prepared for challenging conditions including firm snow, breakable crusts, and sloppy, wet snow as days heat up. Ski crampons will be helpful on the skin up, and carrying a tool for self arrest is recommended.
Mount Tukuhnikivatz on April 12.
Snowpack and Weather Data
