While more than 7” of new snow fell in the Mammoth area last night the distribution of new snow is variable across the range. Elevated avalanche danger may be equally variable. Evaluate conditions carefully and be suspect of areas with higher new snow totals.
Field observations have indicated last week’s storm totals range from 1-3 ft throughout the forecast area with the most impressive accumulations centered in the Mammoth area. Mild weather of the last couple of days has led to a healing trend keeping our focus on surface instabilities. However, it is prudent to think about how the underlying snowpack is accepting this new load. Don’t be afraid to dig in and evaluate these lower layers. It is also worth remembering that despite the recent storm overall the coverage remains very thin. Keep an eye out for shallowly buried rocks and trees and move cautiously through the landscape, a personal injury at this point in time may have negative implications for the larger community.