Powderhouse Observation

Rain appeared to transition to snow around 11:00am in the Meyers area. Driving up towards Luther Pass at 2pm there were significant areas of Christmas Valley with water across the road, and small streams next to the highway were raging. Near the base of Powderhouse only a few inches of new snow was present on top of wet snow. As we gained elevation the depth of the new snow increased dramatically and there was around two feet of new snow near the summit. Snow was falling at around 3 inches an hour during my visit. I tested some of the smaller cornices and wind features near the summit and they failed easily at depths of over two feet. The surface snow on these features was soft and without slab properties but the deeper snow was much more cohesive. We descended on lower angle terrain that was just barely steep enough to mostly keep us on top, but any falls required strenuous effort to get going again. Snow was noticeably less deep and heavier below about 8000 feet. Upon arriving back at our vehicles it was clear that snow had been falling at a very high rate during our time on the mountain. Even at the relatively lower elevation of Hwy 89 about 6 inches of new snow fell on my vehicle during the 2 hours I was gone. 

Photo 1: Just a few inches of powder over wet snow at 7700 feet at 2:30pm

Photo 2: Water was visible leaving Grass Lake

Photo 3: New snow depths increased dramatically as elevation was gained.

Photo 4:The wind features on low angle terrain near the summit were touchy and failed around two feet deep.

Photo 5: Looking at the depth of the broken cornice near the summit.