April 4, 2009, Snoqualmie Bluebird
4/4/09
WA Snoqualmie Pass
1824
1
Got a late, especially late for today, start up from the pass at ~10, racing for the shade before the sun roasted it. Followed a friendly gang of folk up a nice skintrack to about 5k at noonish, where it became clear, through tree bombs and increasingly roasted powder, that it was time to get home before the slide cycle started. Forewent any summits for a last chance at powder. Dropped into a shady ~40+ degree NW facing glade (everything more shallow had sun!) just as the sun's rays started to hit the snow. Nice light chest shots all the way down, with a fusillade of tree bombs not far behind. Cut a couple of truly tiny wet slides on SW slopes on the way back to the car.
As the pass was closed for avy work on the S facing aspect of Granite above the W 90 lanes, I skinned up Summit West for a couple laps. Watching the artillery crew was neat. An attempt to straightline the resort met with a thoroughly enjoyable faceplant in the soft wet snow.
The upper layers of the Snoqualmie snowpack, whereever sun/wind have touched things, consist of ~4-6" of soft above a thin but often supportable crust above most of a pole's worth of fist or softer snow atop a more rigid crust. In sheltered shade, the upper crust was absent. Crust formation was already starting in formerly sunny shade. I anticipate all manner of crust shenanigans tomorrow, except where the sun reheats it.
Of note: although wet slides were evident on all sunny aspects, they all appeared to be running on the upper crust (all the slides looked shallow to me, even those driven by control work. All the slides I observed in person slid on the upper layer.). If/when the deeper stuff gets warm/wet, the slide cycle will be much more impressive.
Beautiful day.
As the pass was closed for avy work on the S facing aspect of Granite above the W 90 lanes, I skinned up Summit West for a couple laps. Watching the artillery crew was neat. An attempt to straightline the resort met with a thoroughly enjoyable faceplant in the soft wet snow.
The upper layers of the Snoqualmie snowpack, whereever sun/wind have touched things, consist of ~4-6" of soft above a thin but often supportable crust above most of a pole's worth of fist or softer snow atop a more rigid crust. In sheltered shade, the upper crust was absent. Crust formation was already starting in formerly sunny shade. I anticipate all manner of crust shenanigans tomorrow, except where the sun reheats it.
Of note: although wet slides were evident on all sunny aspects, they all appeared to be running on the upper crust (all the slides looked shallow to me, even those driven by control work. All the slides I observed in person slid on the upper layer.). If/when the deeper stuff gets warm/wet, the slide cycle will be much more impressive.
Beautiful day.
