Warm day on Red Lake Peak

Location Name: 
Red Lake Peak
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 01/03/2015 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 42' 50.4684" N, 119° 59' 12.4656" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path
Terrain Trap
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Pic 1: Faceting continues both above and below the rain crust, with larger, more easily recognizable angled grains below the crust.

Pic 2: On all but the steepest solar aspects, a high temperature gradient was observed near the buried rain crust. This W facing indirect solar aspect still had a TG of 3.5 from Tsurf to T10 just below the crust. On steep shaded slopes, the rain crust is faceting away and actually provides a decent skiing surface.

Pic 3: Near and above treeline, lots of dirt on snow promoting sun absorption and melting.

Pic 4: Good image of variable surface conditions. E aspect just above Meiss parking en route to Red Lake Peak.

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

Above treeline the winds increased to Moderate and were enough to keep all but the sunniest slopes in a frozen state. This actually provided better skiing than expected, as crust is faceting away and becoming edgeable. "Recycled pow" may be in our near future.