Quick report
We rode around the Seattle Ridge zone today under beautiful sunny skies. The uptrack is generally in good shape, with a couple of icy patches that thawed nicely by late morning. Despite the warming trend over the past week or so, riding conditions were still quite pleasant along the ridgetops and downright enjoyable in Main and Junior Bowls. Temperatures in the valley bottoms approached the low 40s today, but the colder ridgetop temperatures have slowed signs of spring up high. We did not observe any new avalanche activity during our travels.
While riding in Main Bowl, we stopped at the site of a small, older avalanche in a steep gully feature. Informal digging nearby easily revealed the 3/19 facet layer sitting on top of a very stout crust. There are signs of improving stability, but the layer is still worth tracking for future loading or warmer weather.
The Seattle Ridge area has seen a healthy amount of traffic since the 3/19 storm, with many of the bowls having been skied or ridden nearly wall to wall. We chose to err on the side of caution today given the spooky-looking facet layer and although we traveled in steep terrain, we avoided consequential runs with exposure or terrain traps below.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 17-38
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- N/A
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Mostly clear skies today, with light winds gusting out of the east. The Seattle Ridge weather station recorded a high of 22°F, while valley bottoms near the road saw temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.
Snowpack
We did not dig any formal pits today, but in hand pits around Main Bowl we found about 6–12 inches of soft snow sitting on top of the 3/19 facet layer, with a very stout crust below. Near the top of Warm-Up Bowl, we also observed surface hoar intermingled with a light dusting of new snow.