Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Traveled between 2,100ft and 4,500ft on the east slopes of Wedge Mtn.
Snow surfaces had firmed up decently overnight, but were melting quickly in the sun. The snowpack was draining below about 3,000ft, and water was observed flowing out of it in many areas at lower elevations.

I stumbled across a few very small patches of what was left of dry, snow on shaded aspects. On my way out these had begun to change to wet grains. For the most part, snow surfaces were mushy, and somewhat sticky. A moderate breeze near a ridge feature did appear to be slowing down the surface melting, but there was free water on the surface that was beginning to make it's way into the pack in many areas.

I dug two profiles, one on a N aspect and one on an ESE aspect. A few takeaways from these were that the snowpack was approaching 0 degrees C on the north aspect, and water was not far from getting down to the Mid-January crust. Still, the pack appeared a ways away from transitioning to all melt forms, and was incredibly dense.
The profile on the ESE aspect showed that water had been draining through it, and weak, large-grained wet snow was found about a foot from the surface. The punchy spots I did find in the snowpack were on these aspects, near rock outcroppings.