Deep Snow on Mt. Lola

Sun affected snow existed on any sun-exposed slopes below 8000 ft. including low angle N aspects. The surface snow was sometimes heavy and wet and sometimes a thin breakable crust. Snowmobile cuts on steep test slopes did not trigger any signs of instabilities and snowmobiles did trench into 50 to 70 cm deep into the most recent snow but they did not typically sink below the recent snow into the old snow layers. Above 8000 ft. on due north aspects, the snow remained soft and cold. Snowpit observations from a N aspect at 8400 ft. showed a 3.4 m deep snowpack with the old/new snow boundary about 1.5 m below the surface. The old snow in this area seemed denser and more consolidated than in other areas (1 finger hard).