0415 temp. at 6350′ in Carnelian Bay: 26.9 deg. & 94% RH

0515 temp. at 8650′ Tamarack TH: 21 deg.

Backcountry obs.:

Mt. Rose Highway reopened yesterday afternoon (3/5), so I opted to head out to the Tamarack zone to check on the new snow from the big storm. Light winds and cloudy skies greeted the morning, along with snow banks now double their pre-storm height.

Skinning out to Galena Peaks, few tracks were evident on the snow surface and those that had been laid had filled in with wind drifted snow overnight. All snow surfaces on all aspects, elevations, and even in the most sheltered treed zones, have some form of wind effect. In the most sheltered N facing areas, a rippled texture accents the soft snow surface. In any exposed terrain, wind board of all varieties abounds. The most solar and windward aspects are non breakable, while lee and colder N aspects are have a dense, yet penetrable surface. Solar crusts are minimal in this area and were noted in a few limited areas with true S aspects. Abundant cloud cover since the storm has likely contributed to the lack of sun crust.

The skiing? Variable and sporty. Because even the soft snow grains have been ground down in the wind into fragments, the snow is skiing slow and fairly grabby. Each turn provides the excitement of providing a soft, buttery experience, a firm unbreakable wind crust, or breakable board requiring considerable effort. These aren’t conditions worth traveling for, but are great backcountry training.

On the plus side, no signs of instability were noted. It could be a good time for a multi-day deep into the backcountry in search of soft snow, or maybe a hut trip? Stability and coverage are good, so why not head out for some exploration?

While the storm did set the area up for at least another month of great coverage, vastly improving a bleak season up to last week, another shot of cold, light snow would be most welcome to bring back the joys of effortless pow skiing.

Forecast and weather thoughts:

The weather over the next few days will be rather lackluster and will do little to improve surface conditions.

Expect highs Weds.-Sat. in the upper 30s to low 40s in Tahoe communities with generally mostly cloudy skies lasting through Fri. Backcountry highs each afternoon will likely hit the mid 30s. Expect the snow to thicken and continue crusting each day. A few snow showers could grace the area Weds. and Thurs. dropping a dusting at best along the crest and points N of Tahoe. Lows each night will drop below freezing into the 20s with high humidities each night.

Fri. a narrow ridge passes over the region that will usher in sunny skies and temps into the low 40s.

The weekend continues the ho-hum rhythm: cool and mostly cloudy days with highs into the low 40s at the lake, mid 30s in the backcountry with modest chances for decorative, yet non-consequential snow showers. Lows will cool efficiently into the 20s each night.

The next potential storm signal comes Sun. – Weds. with two rounds of precip. approaching the area from the Pacific. These look rather modest, but could bring a needed refresh to zones above 7000′. Snow levels don’t appear particularly low with either storm. While unimpressive, any new snow would be a welcome refresh to cover up the wind battered surface left by the excesses of the Great Blizzard of 2024.