Quick report
It was a lovely day at the Pass. Seasonal temperatures and sunny skies, at least for a few hours mid-morning. On shaded slopes, up to 6" of dust lies on a firm and supportable crust, while sun-exposed slopes have a crust at the surface. A solid overnight refreeze left firm surfaces, even at trailhead elevations. Only minimal softening occurred during the day on slopes in direct sunlight. Shaded portions of the luge were still frozen solid at 1:30. I saw minimal signs of wind transport on open slopes at the middle-elevations and observed no obvious signs of instability where my tour took me. Wet loose never seemed to materialize and what activity I saw occurred on Wednesday. The surface snow on lower-angle northerly slopes stayed cold, but trees on those slopes began to shed and tree bomb in the sun. The only snow I was able to get to move today was a bit of dry loose sluffing off of the crust on very steep shaded slopes.
Challenging travel has returned in the forest below about 4000'. On firm slopes both above and below treeline, some type of traction device may be helpful.
Small wet loose and rollerballs on slopes in the sun, likely all occurred on Wednesday.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Recent Snowfall
- 10-12
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
AM clouds lifted off to periods of sunshine mid-morning, before the clouds rolled back in in the early afternoon. Low and mid-level clouds filtered through at times shrouding some slopes while leaving others in full sun. Calm to light winds where I travelled.
Snowpack
From 3000-3500', about 1-2" of recent snow over a stout crust. By 3500' about 3" over the crust. From 4500-5200' there was 5" over the crust. At lower-elevations, the snow below the crust is still wet. Surface snow was mainly unconsolidated on shaded slopes. Anything that saw the sun on Wednesday started the day with a crust.