Quick report
The rain certainly took it's toll on the snowpack. Coverage was pretty grim below about 6000-6300ft. Fortunately, what snow there is was very strong and supportable. If anything, it was icy. Steeper sunny slopes softened a little bit, providing nice 'spring' corn skiing. Not the typical snow type I'm after in December, but given all the recent rain, it was a welcome surprise. No cracking or collapsing noted. Avalanches were from previous days.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- >8500ft
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Beautiful day! Light to occasionally moderate W winds kept things cool but not cold.
Snowpack
The snow surface showed signs of rain to at least 8300ft (where I turned around). Blue icy conditions could be seen much higher on the mountain. A very thick (8") and supportable crust formed on the snow surface during Friday's long clear night despite temperatures being above freezing. No surprise, the snowpack is various versions of Melt Forms and Ice masses.
Avalanche
There were several larger natural avalanches in the Nisqually drainage that occurred over the past several days. It's unclear exactly when they happened, but it wasn't today. Their startzones ranged from 8000-11000ft. Some of these slides ran long distances in lower angled terrain.