4:30am temp. at 6350′ in Carnelian: 18.1 deg.

24hr. snow total: 10.5″.

5:30am temp. at 8400′ Incline Peak TH: 11 deg.

Observed new snow from storm on Incline Peak: 12-16″.

Backcountry Obs.

It was a cold, windy morning on Incline Peak. Light, Utah-like powder greeted me as I descended to the meadow from the trailhead. In the trees and down low, some light wind affect on the snow surface added some visual delight to the newly refreshed winter landscape, but little else to disturb the fluffy goodness underfoot.

Climbing the peak, northerly breezes stiffened moving snow through the trees on the N side of the mountain, but did not appreciably degrade the powder. As the trees thinned within a couple hundred feet of the summit, I noted wind scouring, soft sastrugi and significant wind transport of snow from N aspects to S and SE aspects. Coverage has continued to improve, but the ultra light snow from this last storm has done little to fully bury the larger rocks and logs.

Our crew did note one whumph in the skin track as it descended a compression near a large fallen tree. Off the skinner, a density change was apparent in the new storm snow. On my first drop, I ski cut a leeward loading convexity and did trigger a fracture, but it only propagated along the feature.

The skiing is excellent today. Light, dry powder below the near treeline zones makes for big smiles floating through the trees and hopping over granite boulders fat and fluffy with new snow.

A few sharks still lurk beneath the surface. Tips up!

Storm Post Mortem and Forecast Thoughts:

The storm came and delivered as advertised. Snow began around 10am yesterday in Carnelian with strong SW winds. Temps were in the low 30’s, then crashed as the snow moved in and saturated the airmass, remaining in the 22-23 deg. range during the rest of the event. As evening fell snowfall rates began to ebb and flow as the main body of the storm moved to our south. By 8pm, skies cleared and only a few flurries remained. 10.5″ had fallen.

Many of us up here are taking a collective sigh of relief to have gotten a decent snowfall, finally. Personally, living with the omnipresent specter of climate change, it feels like each winter could be the last. The warm December storms felt unsettling and I began to wonder, “will we ever be able to get a cold storm this season? Or is it just too warm?”

The snow has come and I’m reminded: Never waste a powder day.

Looking ahead, the week starts out quite cold with highs reaching the low to mid 30’s through Tues, when a small disturbance might deliver a dusting to a few inches on the crest. Weds.-Thurs., a storm similar to this last one (cold and quick), might drop 6-12″ around the area, mainly on Weds. afternoon into evening. A nice addition, but again nothing game changing in terms of opening more terrain. No base to start out really keeps only the highest zones in play until more substantial snows fall.

The pattern looks to stay cold and unsettled for the end of the week with hints of a bigger storm next weekend. The Euro is more aggressive with this system than the GFS today, so confidence remains low. Beyond 7 days the models are still struggling, so it’s anyone’s guess. I remain hopeful.

For now, it’s time to ski. Finally.