hold on to your hats

Hold on to your hats; today was a windy field day in the Middle Fork. Our goal was to get a sense of the snowpack structure before the impending storm.

• Warm air temperatures made for moist surface snow up to ~ 6000 feet. We observed fresh rollerballs at low and mid-elevations.
• At 5000 feet, winds had transported any soft snow that was available. These wind-affected slopes had minimal cracking under our skis, but we mainly traveled on a firm, supportable crust above 5000 feet.
• We dug a snow pit on a north aspect at 6155 feet. Please see the snowpack tab for more details.
• The winds and blowing snow were moderate to strong throughout the day.
• As we descended, we were encouraged by the s-1 snowfall, which, unfortunately, became rain at the trailhead.