Quick report
We toured up Seattle Ridge and got a lap in Main Bowl as the weather picked up. We saw a lot of snow blowing off of the surrounding ridges in Turnagain Pass, and were treated to some exfoliating conditions as we transitioned for our last run of the day. We dug pits at 2500' and 2000', finding a fresh layer of buried surface hoar in our higher pit but not in the lower pit. For now the snow over the past week seems to be bonding well to the older crust, but that is something we will continue to keep an eye on. It was a little surprising to see how wet the snow still is from the last series of warm storms.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 1
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Mostly cloudy skies with some pretty morning light as we left town this morning. Clouds, winds, and precip picked up while we were out, and by noon it was enough to decide against a longer tour we had originally planned.
Snowpack
We dug one pit on a northwest-facing slope at 2500', right at the top of Main Bowl. This is an area that tends to get wind loaded (and often produces avalanches as a result), and the snowpack was almost 8' deep where we dug. We also did one quick pit down at a lower elevation on a more protected slope in Main Bowl.
We found 1-1.5' snow sitting on top of the 12/11 crust. The snowpack was moist to wet below the crust. We also noticed a fresh layer of buried surface hoar. This was about 2" deep in our pit, and would have been on the surface yesterday. We didn't get any unstable results in our tests (ECTN26 above the 12/11 crust), but that is likely changing as winds continue to blow.
More details in attached photos and snowpit profile.