Red Cone Conditions

SNOWPACK OBSERVATION Red Cone Mammoth Lakes
Submission Info Thursday, February 28, 2019 - 5:15pm

Contributor

Dennis L

Red Flags:

Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain

Rapid warming

Red Cone 37° 35' 43.206" N, 119° 1' 28.7148" W

See map: Google Maps

Snowpit Observations

More detailed information about the snowpack:

Toured up from Tamarack TH to just below the summit of Red Cone. Hand shears and kicking convexities on the way up showed no storm slab instability. Less new snow than anticipated; 4-8 inches depending on wind effect. A hand pit around 9250 on a SE slope showed several MF layers with soft snow between. Kicking on a small N-facing slope on the ridgeline just below Red Cone summit created failures in a 4"-thick F+ hard wind slab, but no shooting cracks or whoomphs were experienced. The very top of the W-facing section of the bowl did not have fresh wind slabs. Ski pen on the ridge about 4cm. Skied down the E face of Red Cone and then the Crystal Lake drainage in nice compacted powder free of wind effect. Thanks to whoever built the well-engineered kicker above Lake George!

Weather Observations

Wind Speed:

Moderate

Precipitation:

Snow

Accumulation rate:

Less than 1 in. per hour

More detailed information about the weather:

Warm day. S-1/S-2 up to around 9700, above that socked in with no precip. Moderate to strong winds.