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January 13, 2009, Artist Point

1/13/09
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
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Posted by sb on 1/13/09 9:35am
Nice to see the sun today;  the snowpack seems stable;  snow quality is 0.  Really tough breakable crust.  Maybe if it warms up it will be a bit better.
Not sure about that stability.  I dug a pit 100 yards inbounds from the Table gate and 50 feet above the cat track.  Estimated info:  North aspect, 35-40* slope, ~4600', 10:30ish just before the sun came out, cold temps (<32*). 

Not much action on the column test.  The ice crust  above several feet of light snow.  With the Rutschblock Test, I got the crust to break down 1-2" unclean and then there was a clean shear slab of 4-5" below that just by stepping on with one ski.  Several jumps on the remaining block yielded no result.

Patrol said they got a 4' concussion fracture above the Beast just by throwing bombs off the boundary along chair 8.  Sun made a brief appearance, but temps remained cold and turns were kept to groomers and East coast moguls on North Face.  Thought I would be skiing corn... maybe W/Th.


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january-13-2009-artist-point
sb
2009-01-13 17:35:46