Snowpits to Striploins: Observations on Nordstrom Ridge

Today, we ventured out into the northern area of our region. We spent the day on Nordstrom Ridge, once again, searching out and testing the persistent weak layer in the snowpack. It was a warm, overcast day, with some light rain in the afternoon. The snow surface below treeline was wet, while the snow in the treeline and alpine zones was moist. We expect the southerly aspects up high have seen the most impact from the sun. We dug profiles on southerly and northerly aspects in the treeline. We found the weak layer buried 30-60 cm down from the snow surface. The warm temperatures and the time elapsed since burial have made this layer more difficult for riders to trigger. That's not to say you won't still find avalanches in this area, but that it's going to be more difficult, and likely on steeper, larger, and more consequential terrain. While exploring the area, we noted significant new cornice growth on ridges, prompting us to modify our plans and allow for more space. While in the field, we observed no new avalanches. We observed extensive evidence of a previous cycle, along with significant pinwheeling and snowballing in the below treeline and treeline elevation bands.