Quick report
Not many people were out recreating at Hatcher pass today. 20 or so were at the IM sledding hill, several families walking up the Nordic trails, one person built a kicker on the Eldorado lowers, a group of 6 on the south ridge of Marmot, and some hearty road run enthusiasts who are not scared of firm snow.
On our tour up Presidents, we found consolidated snow mostly upside down (slightly inverted) and all moist rounding facets and wind packed rounds. The wind slab that formed over the last few days ranges from 1 to 4 inches thick on leeward aspects and is sitting on facets on the basal crust. The wind slab is stubborn and nonreactive, with pole tests and hand shears revealing a cohesive slab sitting over weaker snow on top of firm basal ice crust.
The last couple of days of warm weather combined with above freezing temperatures have really affected snow surfaces below 3500 feet. It did not freeze below 3500' for the past two nights, with temperatures rising to 40degF. Conditions feel like thick cream cheese and can be challenging to feel like a hero on the descent.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 25
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
The weather started off obscured with low light and poor visibility, but slightly improved by the end of our tour thanks to a gorgeous sunset. Temperatures were 25 deg F on Marmot @ 4500' but felt like 45 F with 85% humidity. Winds were strong out of the southeast throughout my tour, gusting SE 20-31 mph on Marmot and SE 38-40mph on Hatch.
Snowpack
We did numerous hand pits and pole tests throughout our tour from 2000' up to 3800' and found poor structure, a cohesive (stronger) slab sitting over weak sugary (but rounding) facets on top of the firm Oct basal ice crust. All the grains in the snowpack in this location are moist and rounding. Winds slabs that formed during 12/21-12/23 were very stubborn and hard to initiate and bonded well in this location. The height of snow in this location was less than a meter deep and only 1-2 ft deep on the ridge where snow surfaces have been scoured for days.