April 12
Cardiff-Mineral fork
Elevation, slope angles and aspects
7000-10600, angles over 35°, all aspects
Snow conditions
3"+ of dense new snow over a settled spongy base. The old snow remained damp below 8500'. Above that elevation it was much drier, although it did retain some moisture. Early in the day, cool temperatures and cloud cover, allowed good fast skiing. As the temperatures warmed and skies cleared, wet point releases were almost immediate.
The new snow on all but upper elevation shady got wet and sticky very quickly. Ski cutting on the north facing mid elevation exit, produced good sized rollers but, no slab propagation.
Weather
Overcast to partly cloudy skies, light northerly wind and mild temperatures.
Evaluation
Stable snow conditions. Day time heating produced widespread point releases. That instability could occur again with clear skies. Deeper wet slides and glide have some limited potential, if warming period is extended. Snocone snow will be found with good timing as the crusts soften.
Instability from the currently predicted large mid week storm would be dependent on amount, bonding, winds and daytime heating, both during and after the storm.
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