Conditions on Thursday morning near Andesite Peak in the Lake Tahoe Backcountry. Video: Jan Czyzewski.
Backcountry Conditions
Andesite / Castle Peak Tahoe 2023-12-07
We cannot complain about yesterday's storm in North Lake Tahoe! We got close to a foot of new snow out of it, dramatically improving the coverage and surface conditions in the Tahoe Backcountry.
Overall, the coverage is still thin. Taking measurements throughout the terrain, the height of snow is between 40cm and 85cm on the Sierra Crest at 7,500' to 8,500. While this is enough snow to get around, skiing conservatively is the name of the game. Thinly covered rocks and fallen trees abound and it's easy to ski open slopes into stands of alder that hasn't been pushed flat yet by snow load.
Skinning through the woods near Castle Peak in the Tahoe Backcountry. Photo: Zeb Blais.
The structure of the snowpack is also a bit suspect. Sierra Avalanche Center had the danger at Considerable today with wind slab and persistent slabs being the top two avalanche problems. Digging into the snowpack reveals large grained basal facets. Despite the unstable layering, the snow load on the weak layer hasn't yet produced any reported incidents.
Backcountry conditions in Tahoe, looking north from Andesite Peak. Photo: Zeb Blais.
Powder Turns showing the conditions in the Truckee backcountry.
Use caution in areas with greater snow depths of wind drifted snow where the snow load could be much greater, and the new snow could have formed a slab. Also use caution in parking in deep snow:
A classic scene at the Castle Peak Trailhead. Pro Tip: You can't park a car in 2 feet of fresh snow...even if it is an Audi with all wheel drive.
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