24-25

Bottom of the Ramp, E aspect, 7900'. We found 24" of new snow which had nearly doubled the snowpack, leaving over five and half foot deep (HS 171) snowpack in this area. We got propagation (ECTP 24) at the storm snow interface. Photo: GNFAC

Sawtelle Peak E-facing Profile at 9000 ft - 31 Dec 2024

Did the tour de Yellow Mules and today and found some amazing pockets of riding. Tricky riding the wind blow snow though, the snow would be supportable to the slab/old snow, but found some pockets where you’d break through and submarine into the facets at the bottom. Ski tugs got us out. 
 

The wind had definitely been moving things around, signs of decent loading and some avy activity today, kind of where I thought we’d find some action. See attached photos. Noticed a small 8-10” wind slab pocket on the way in, looked like storm load but could have been sled triggered from the top. Found a bigger pocket that had pulled out on steeper terrain in the 1st Yellow Mule no tracks around since we were the first in there. Both were N to NE facing which we had flagged for ourselves due to the wind direction during a post storm. We were suspect of the east side of the compass from north to south. 
 

We chose to play in the flats today, kept slope angles low, and stayed out from under avy terrain - Still had a blast. Didn’t dig today (sorry), but storm totals listed seem pretty accurate. Honestly, I expected a bit more action today, but I got enough info from those two spots to be pretty conservative. 

Ice crust on trees from freezing rain last Saturday Dec 28 now covered by rime ice.

Skied the second meadow this morning. S1 to S2 precipitation while we were in the area; cloud ceiling was around 8000' around 7am and lifted to ~9000' by 9:30am; calm winds. Ski tracks from yesterday had ~2-6" on them. Snow was deep and dry; no signs of avalanches or instability were observed.

We skied around Sawtelle Peak today where there is a solid 4 feet of snow at 8750' where we restarted the snow depth sensor which is working now.

The good: We didn't see any recent avalanches, but we were traveling on foot and couldn't see all the terrain. The weak layer of snow that formed on the snow surface after Thanksgiving into early December is slowly gaining strength. There's also a ton of snow and coverage has improved dramatically. 

The bad: The weak layer of facets is generally in the middle of the snowpack and can be found on all slopes. The recent snow is the first big test of this weak layer, and it produced numerous big rumbling collapses on both an East and Southwest aspect. These collapses are an obvious sign of unstable snow and told me not to trust the snowpack.

Of interest: There are several thin rain crusts within the upper two feet of snow. You'll likely feel the upper most rain crust under your track but not under skis. The attached photo shows the most recent freezing rain event on the trunks of trees.

Small avalanche NE aspect near top of beaver. D1 natural trigger wind slab. Only observed avalanche from groomer trail.