Winds were as calm as a midnight sea throughout most of the day and night. Temperatures peaked at 50 ºF and never got below freezing. Snow depth hovers around 61 inches. The snowpack is so hammer-hard that we are loosing it very slowly. That is the good news.
Since January 8th it's been warm, dry, and sunny, with plenty of wind and no new snow. Surface conditions are rough, especially above treeline on Mount Shasta. There really isn't any smooth snow on the mountain currently. Instead there's sastrugi, other wind-carved features, developing sun cups and penitentes, icy chicken heads, lots of ski tracks and foot prints, and increasingly bare rock. The snowpack is very well-consolidated. No interesting weather has been seen for a month.
Snow surfaces of southerly facing terrain in Avalanche Gulch between 8-10,000 ft are softening up by early afternoon. Climbers have reported rock and ice fall above Lake Helen. If climbing the mountain, plan to ascend above the Red Banks before the sun hits them, wear a helmet, and be heads up.
The snow depth sensor at Sand Flat is fixed. Numbers being reported are correct.
Sunny. Clear. Sunny. Clear. Sunny. Clear ... ad nauseam. If you are looking for respite, do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands.
Freezing levels will be in the 9 to 11,000 ft range over the next couple of days. A few clouds may drift through tonight, but overall the skies will be clear. North and northeast winds may create some breezy conditions in south facing gullies and exposed areas above treeline, but I wouldn't expect to be blown over today.