Lynx Creek

Our goal today was to get into Lynx creek to get a baseline snowpack assessment in this transitionary zone between Turnagain and Summit and to look at surface conditions ahead of new snow this week.  We lost the crust above ~ 2,300' today, which is a bit lower than Turnagain Pass.  Still finding very weak snow above and below where the crust exists.  Above ~2,400' the upper snowpack is very dry and in varying states of faceting out.  Surface consists of 6-10" of fist hard snow (faceting out) from trailhad to our highpoint ~2,500'.

Access into Lynx Creek is pretty straight forward.  Trail is cleared though there is some alder whips at face/ handlebar level as you traverse below Captain's Chair.  

Cracking/ whumpfing observed on the crust/ facet combo below 12/30 new snow. Mostly isolated 2-4' around sled. One crack observed ~20' off of sled.

We found the crust to disappear around 2,300' on this particular slope in the Lynx Cr. drainage.  We tested the snowpack at 2,450' (no crust) and found a very unconsolidated fist hard snowpack in the top 60cm.  Our second snowpit was at ~1,950' (crust present) where we found very weak and reactive snow just below the late Nov./ early Dec. crust.  Still no slab on the crust/ facet combo but once we get a new load I'd expect this layer to be very ractive in the mid elevation band, where this crust/ facet combo exists.

Snowpit#1: HS: 155.  2,450'.  Asp: NE.  ECTN

Snowpit #2: HS: 140cm. 1,950'. Asp" E.  ECTP1, ECTP10 failing on 2mm facets below the crust, 25cm down.