Observation: Spring Creek

Observation Date

2/8/2026

Observer Name

Brett Kobernik

Region

Skyline » Huntington Canyon » Left Fork Huntington Canyon » Spring Creek

Location Name or Route

Skyline Summit zone

Weather

Sky

Few

Wind Speed

Calm

Weather Comments

Another very mild day. Could've been November or April.

Snow Characteristics

Snow Surface Conditions

Dense Loose

Faceted Loose

Wind Crust

Melt-Freeze Crust

Damp

Snow Characteristics Comments

Northerly facing slopes have cold snow with either wind crusts or loose facets on the surface. All other aspects became damp, including flat terrain. Some shallow areas were damp all the way to the ground.

Below are three snow profiles from today on northeast aspects, all at about 9700' in elevation. Things to note:

The top 15cm is loose, medium-grained facets at all locations. This will be our future weak layer.
Two locations have wind crusts on the surface with the facets directly below.
The Christmas heat/rain crusts are visible in all profiles in the 20 to 30cm layers.
Below the heat/rain crusts are all facets. With future loads of snow, it would not surprise me to see avalanches breaking down to this layer.

Snow Profile

Comments

Overall, riding conditions are not good. There are scattered spots with soft snow of one consistency or another. I found a few good turns here and there (photo below). This snow was odd. The top few inches were damp, then cold, dry facets below that.

People have been skiing recently in The Big Meadow in lower Lake Fork. It looks like there were enjoying some soft recrystalized snow. I can still make out a set of figure eights that I made about a month ago.

All the recent warm weather has really taken a toll on southerly aspects. The snow has melted off A LOT on south facing slopes. This is really hampering travel in many areas.

Photo below: Looking west up Lake Fork.

The warm weather has also been opening up creek bottoms. This doesn't help when trying to travel around.

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