Good morning, this is Sue Burak with the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center with an avalanche advisory posted for Monday March 24, 2008. MOUNTAIN WEATHER Daytime highs climbed 5-12 degrees F on Sunday with a few locations above 10,700 ft reaching 49 F. Calm winds and balmy temperatures were a fitting end to Easter week. Yesterday was the last day of warming as a return to unsettled, cooler and windy weather is in store for this week. A large area of very low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska will push a cold front across central and northern California Tuesday night and Wednesday. Southwest winds ahead of the front will impact elevations above 10,000 ft by late this afternoon and continue through Wednesday night. The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a High Wind Watch for Mono County for Tuesday night through Wednesday evening. The strongest winds will blow Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with ridgetop gusts up to 100 mph. For the southern Sierra, the Las Vegas NWS office is concerned about the potential for a down slope wind event starting late Tuesday into Wednesday. Strong post frontal north winds will develop after the shortwave moves east on Wednesday night. Expect the Las Vegas office is issue a high wind watchor warning for the Owens Valley and eastern slopes of the Sierra by tomorrow afternoon. There is a chance of a few inches of snow falling at the higher elevations Tuesday night and Wednesday with another storm expected for the weekend. SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE DISCUSSION Warm clear days and cold nights have worked wonders on the Sierra snowpack. The snowpack on west, south and southeast aspects has changed to either melt-freeze crusts with recognizable granular polycrystals, the fabled Sierra corn snow or to less fabled, assorted sun crusts. Skiing through suncrusts is like skiing through corn flakes. The surface layer is refrozen and has been only partially melted by solar radiation. This could be due to the strong north winds over the last week that cooled the snow surface and offset some of the melting effects of spring time solar radiation. Most observers and my own experience report the corn flake variety of spring skiing, especially above 11,000 ft. This type of snow can melt below the crust leading to deep soft conditions in the afternoon. There is however one report of true corn snow from 7,000 up to 12,500 ft. The snow did not get mushy even late in the day. May we all find perfect snow! I have not seen and there have been no observer reports of wet point releases or wet slab avalanches. If you have seen wet slides or have triggered a small slide, please leave a message for me at 760.924.5510 with the location and time of day. A few brave people ventured into high elevation north facing couloirs this weekend and reported character building conditions ranging from settled powder to icy breakable crust and some very hard surfaces. BOTTOM LINE For this morning, the avalanche danger rating is LOW on all slope angles and aspects. By mid day, the avalanche danger rating can climb to LOW on west, south and southeast aspects steeper than 35 degrees. If you can initiate wet sluffs on your turns, its time to find another slope. Please note that the avalanche danger rating in this advisory expires in 24 hours. This advisory is our best interpretation of snow pack conditions and NWS forecasts issued today. Backcountry travelers should be aware that elevation and geographic distinctions are approximate and that a transition zone exists between upper and lower elevations. Avalanches do not happen by accident and most human involvement is a matter of choice not chance. Most avalanche accidents are caused by slab avalanches that are triggered by the victim of member of the victim's party. Even small slides can be dangerous. Always practice route finding skills and carry avalanche rescue gear. Remember that avalanche danger ratings are only general guidelines. Distinctions between geographic areas, elevations, slope aspects and slope angles should be made.