December 23, 2009, Three Way Peak Basin
12/23/09
2388
2
It was lonely up there. :'(
The holiday crowds were at the ski area and conditions were groomed and firm. There was a nice track into Three Way Peak Basin. The sun was out until I left around 1:30pm. The temperatures in the basin were cold enough to maintain the powder. Some of the upper slopes had bowling ball sized avy debris partially concealed. Depending upon the wind exposure there was boot deep powder on most slopes. The most enjoyable terrain was a bit lower and in the sparse trees which was really effortless.
As I was standing near Party Knoll, I watched a mom and her 8-10 year old daughter come ripping down Three Way Exit Chute. The young powder diva was barking and yelping as she was descending knee deep(on her) powder. It was great to see her enthusiasm and her tracks were a thing of beauty. ;D
There were plenty of lines left when I departed. Most of the skier traffic stayed in Silver Basin. Snowpack was stable and I did not see or feel any sloughing.
The holiday crowds were at the ski area and conditions were groomed and firm. There was a nice track into Three Way Peak Basin. The sun was out until I left around 1:30pm. The temperatures in the basin were cold enough to maintain the powder. Some of the upper slopes had bowling ball sized avy debris partially concealed. Depending upon the wind exposure there was boot deep powder on most slopes. The most enjoyable terrain was a bit lower and in the sparse trees which was really effortless.
As I was standing near Party Knoll, I watched a mom and her 8-10 year old daughter come ripping down Three Way Exit Chute. The young powder diva was barking and yelping as she was descending knee deep(on her) powder. It was great to see her enthusiasm and her tracks were a thing of beauty. ;D
There were plenty of lines left when I departed. Most of the skier traffic stayed in Silver Basin. Snowpack was stable and I did not see or feel any sloughing.
I toured into Silver Basin today and made a few laps, and it was surprisingly soft. I couldn't convince any of the guys I tried to bring along that it would be any good, and it ended up being even better than I thought. Lots of tracks still to be had even in Silver Basin.
We might have seen you out there, Greg. I was the guy on Atomics/Dynafits and I was touring with a gal on a splitboard.
Beautiful day out there, with excellent snow below the ridgelines. Up higher, there was variable, wind effected snow. I knocked a small (3 foot wide, 6 inches deep) slab loose on a cross-loaded rib on the slope beneath the col that is east of Threeway, so watch for slabbage near the ridge tops.
We dug a pit and got CT18 on moist-looking snow at the very bottom of the column, about 3 feet down. The layers were roughly as follows: 6 inches fist (new snow), 3 inches pencil (rain/melt freeze crust), a fair amount of 1 finger until I got to another couple pencil layers interspersed with short 4-finger sections. Looking back at the telemetry, I'm not sure we dug deep enough to hit the early December megacrust, and these other pencil layers are probably rain crusts formed around December 15th.
Also of note was the fact that the snowpack looked to be isothermal, aside from the top bit of new snow, which was at the air temperature roughly.
I've uploaded an unprofessional video and welcome criticism if anyone sees any glaring errors in my methodology.
Beautiful day out there, with excellent snow below the ridgelines. Up higher, there was variable, wind effected snow. I knocked a small (3 foot wide, 6 inches deep) slab loose on a cross-loaded rib on the slope beneath the col that is east of Threeway, so watch for slabbage near the ridge tops.
We dug a pit and got CT18 on moist-looking snow at the very bottom of the column, about 3 feet down. The layers were roughly as follows: 6 inches fist (new snow), 3 inches pencil (rain/melt freeze crust), a fair amount of 1 finger until I got to another couple pencil layers interspersed with short 4-finger sections. Looking back at the telemetry, I'm not sure we dug deep enough to hit the early December megacrust, and these other pencil layers are probably rain crusts formed around December 15th.
Also of note was the fact that the snowpack looked to be isothermal, aside from the top bit of new snow, which was at the air temperature roughly.
I've uploaded an unprofessional video and welcome criticism if anyone sees any glaring errors in my methodology.
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