Tilly Jane

The snowpack on this side is variable as you'd expect for early December. The depths are great, but the surfaces are rough due to the fluctuating temps and recent high winds at upper elevations. With just over a foot of snow at Tilly Jane Sno-Park, we were able to comfortably launch our sleds and head up the Cloud Cap road. The snowpack grew in depth as we climbed and averaged 5-6 ft by 6000'. 

Down low, surfaces are frozen solid, and rough. As we climbed above the inversion at 4500', we were greeted by softer surfaces and sunny skies. SW-SE aspects held moist, sticky snow, but minimal signs of wet loose activity. Shady areas and aspects held cold, faceting  surfaces and better ski quality. While these weak surfaces are not an issue now, we'll continue to track them as the weather changes. 

Above treeline, surfaces are heavily wind-affected or scoured out to ice. Wind-drifted pockets were chalky (P hard), well-aged, and unreactive. While these pockets provided edgeable turns, they were quite slick to skin on and boot penetration was minimal. 

Despite, the healthy early December snowpack, the classic hidden early season hazards seem to be the common theme across the elevation bands. Lower and mid-elevations have many shallowly buried rocks, trees, and open creeks. Upper elevations have scoured areas with shallowly buried talus and thinnly bridges crevasses and bergschrunds in glaciated terrain. Any of these obstacles would make for a nasty ride in the event of a small avalanche or long, sliding fall. 

 

We continue to find very little evidence of any wet loose activity along steep, south-facing features.