Just a heads up that it will be unusually hot this weekend in the Sierra and that wet slides are a good possibility, especially in couloirs. Maybe someone with more know-how can chime in.

You read my mind!

hamik wrote:Just a heads up that it will be unusually hot this weekend in the Sierra and that wet slides are a good possibility, especially in couloirs. Maybe someone with more know-how can chime in.

i hope it gets hot, as the month of may seemed cool. But, it still does not appear that it is going to be unusually hot in the sierra. i hope it is though, it is about time that the snow leaves us for a while.

Was lookin' at this: http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.p ... er+Outlook

It may not be crazy hot for the time of the year but it's the temp differential with the past weeks that raises a red flag IMO.

hmmmmm... i'm just saying the temps aren't suppose to be extreme... but they could be... and i hope they are...

We saw a lot of slide activity on the Palisade glacier this past weekend. Most seemed to be a few days old and nothing too big, but it seems likely that something bigger will be letting go soon. Every chute except the U-Notch appeared to have debris or sloughs at the base of them.

Snow level in Tuttle Creek drainage (S branch) was roughly 11000 ft, but it was a shallow pack and not totally contiguous. Couloirs had excellent coverage above 12000 ft as of last Sunday, but there was a medium-sized wet slide in the afternoon triggered by some rockfall in the NE couloir of Langley.

My party was up in Onion Valley last weekend and we saw some small wet slides amongst N and NE facing bowls. There was not a bunch of activity but I would say the avy levels are moderate. It is going to be different wherever you go, so be safe carry the right equipment and asses your situation.

Snow conditions on N face University peak were soft and soupy going down ( not easy ) and hard to get any purchace going up, you will be punching thru some.

Im no expert, but thats my info to give for THIS area.

Lots of slides in Robinson Lake area too. Not 10 minutes went by and I didn't hear snow slough or rock fall near University Pass on Monday.

butitsadryheat wrote:

mtndonkey wrote:We saw a lot of slide activity on the Palisade glacier this past weekend. Most seemed to be a few days old and nothing too big, but it seems likely that something bigger will be letting go soon. Every chute except the U-Notch appeared to have debris or sloughs at the base of them.

Where was the snow level? Is it melting out fast?

The continuous snow started right after you cross Big pine creek to head up to Sam Mack at around 10.5k. The lake at Sam Mack was just starting to open up and we saw a lot of melting from Saturday to Sunday.