Quick report
Went for a storm day tour to see how much new snow the storm was bringing to the north end of the pass and check out the 2/14 buried surface hoar layer that has been continuously producing large avalanches throughout the region. Snowfall was moderate during the late morning picking up to ~1"/hr by the afternoon and winds were high above treeline. Throughout our day we saw about 3"-4" of new snow fall, more near treeline. In a pit at 1970' we found the 2/14 buried surface hoar layer over 3.5' down and got unstable results in an instability test on that layer. Was another good day skiing low angle pow!
High snowfall and winds were only red flags observed. Visibility was very limited.Weather
- Air Temp
- high 20s-30s
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 350'
- Recent Snowfall
- 4"-5"
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Generally stormy weather throughout the day. Pleasantly, rain line was "low" staying steady at about 350' during the day. Snowfall was strong throughout the day, average rate was 1"/hr. Winds were moderate-high around treeline elevations actively transporting snow.
Snowpack
Still very low coverage in the trees until you break out of the hemlocks and into the alders. Generally there was 1'-2' of soft snow at the surface that made for great skiing! We found the buried surface hoar 18"-20" down at 1450' surrounded by very wet snow and in a pit at 1970' the buried surface hoar was over 3.5' down. We got an unstable result on the buried surface hoar in an instability test at our pit (PST 50/110 END).