The mountains picked up 2 inches of snow on Tuesday, but overall coverage remains very thin. Sunshine and warm temperatures have reduced the snowpack to 12’’ at the Gold Basin Snotel site. A storm is moving in Friday night and Saturday, but this will mainly affect Northern Utah, leaving the La Sals high and dry. Our next chance for snow looks like Monday into Tuesday, but this storm is not impressive. High-pressure returns after Tuesday.

In my travels on Wednesday, I found a variety of conditions, including low-elevation sunny slopes completely melted to the ground and shady north-facing slopes holding 60-65 cm of snow. Rocks, stumps, and logs are a real hazard. I don't recommend trying to get any real turning and riding in just yet. The good news is there is enough snow to put skins on and walk around.

There have been some great early season observations coming in, and you can view them here. On Wednesday, I poked around on North facing slopes and found a cohesive slab overlying the weak facets at the base of the snowpack (see the pit profile below). Sunshine and warm temperatures have allowed the snowpack on this particular slope to settle and form a slab. In this location, the facets at the base of the snowpack reacted to stability tests. Looking to the future, this layer will be problematic when we get a good storm and add more of a load.