Wet Snow above 8000 ft. on Rubicon

Location Name: 
Rubicon Peak
Region: 
West Shore Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 11/15/2017 - 08:30
Location Map: 
United States
38° 59' 31.4556" N, 120° 8' 1.0716" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

No snow existed on the ground up to between 7200 and 7400 ft. Above that elevation, snow coverage was shallow (1-6 inches / 2-15 cm) and patchy up to about 7800 ft. From 7800 ft up, snow coverage became deeper and more consistent. By 8500 ft. snow depths reached up to about  20 in. (55 cm) in some areas but mostly averaged less than that. The new snow was moist and heavy and rested on top of moist old snow that would easily clump together when squeezed. Hand pits and quick snowpit tests indicated that the new snow and old snow are bonding well and the shallow snowpack held no signs of instability. The shallow snowpack did hide numerous rocks, stumps, logs, and other obstacles just below the surface and even more still protruded above the snow. 

Photo 1: Large exposed anchors (aka rocks, stumps, logs, etc) on a north aspect at 8600 ft

Photo 2: 55 cm deep snowpack consisting of moist new snow and moist larger grained old snow near the bottom.

Photo 3: Snow coverage at 7500 ft.

Photo 4: Snow coverage at 7200 ft. 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Greater than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snow level fluctuated between 7800 and 8000 ft. on Rubicon during the morning. Precipitation was heavy at times.