Alpental Valley: Pineapple Pass/Draft Dodger Ridge

Hello winter! This week's storm brought a healthy, fresh coat of paint to the Pass. Storm totals increased significantly as we gained elevation, and it's DEEP at middle and upper elevations. Unfortunately, a few moments of sunshine and some slightly warmer temperatures turned the fresh powder a little thick and heavy by mid-morning. Sun breaks also generally resulted in fresh rollerballs, snow shedding from rocks, and even a few small wet loose slides. 
We also found firsthand evidence of hidden sharks (rocks) lurking in the new snow. It was nearly impossible to see these obstacles before...bamm, found it. 

Minimal cracking, only in wind loaded terrain and very localized to our skis.

There's quite a bit of new snow out there. How much? Well, that changes markedly as you ascend. Storm totals were around 10 inches near Pass level. This increased to about 24 inches around 4000ft, and closer to 30 inches near 5000ft. 

The new snow was largely right side up. We could find a few subtle inter-storm layers, but these weren't producing any avalanches and didn't often fail in the snowpack. Below the new snow, the 4/14 crust was very easy to find. You could feel it with a probe or pole or see it in snow profiles. All the storm snow was well bonded to the underlying crust. While this crust was strong, you can find weakness just below the upper 4/14 crust. The 3/25 crust, however, is still very stout! 

Wind: You could see and feel evidence of wind transported snow along ridges. However, we didn't find any significant wind slabs, nor did we see any slab avalanches. 

Wet Loose: Moments of sunshine and warming temperatures produced rollerballs and a few small wet loose slides. Most of these were very small. One notable avalanche crossed the standard out-track and did not have tracks through the debris when we arrived.