Quick report
We headed up Seattle Ridge to see if there were any recent avalanches and check snowpack conditions. There was several inches of new snow in the parking lot. We found the layer of buried surface hoar 2 to 3’ deep and it produced mixed test results in our snowpit. There was an avalanche in Warm-Up Bowl that looks like it was cornice triggered, possibly over the weekend. We stayed away from high consequence terrain because we are still concerned about the layer of surface hoar.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- none
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Clouds moved in and out all day. Winds from the east were light picking up in the afternoon. We did not see wind transporting snow. It did not snow while we were out there but started in the afternoon on the ride home.
Snowpack
We found surface hoar buried about 2’ deep (60cm). In snowpit tests it produced mixed results. This speaks to the spatial variability of this weak layer. On some slopes, test results may be stable and on others it may be concerning. Snow tests have been unreliable.
Avalanche
Two small skier triggered avalanches. They were too small to have failed on the buried surface hoar layer and may have failed in the new snow.