December 31, 2009, Snoqualmie
12/31/09
WA Snoqualmie Pass
3348
4
Went for a tour up by Snoqualmie pass today for the last time of this decade. In the open good skiing could be found on about 8+ inches of new. The wind was howling transporting the snow where it will and shallow slab had formed. The wind erased my up track while I skied down, and wiped out my down track while I skinned up. The new snow was not well bonded to the base and shovel tests exposed weak layers within the new snow. Skiing over and around rollers released many slabs, but where turns could be had they were fun ones. The trees proved interesting with a variable snow cover on top of the old crust. Skiable, but noisy.
Thanks for the informative report and photos! Glad you got your first post in before the end of the year, keep 'em coming please. :)
Thanks for the report. Those pictures are alarming. The slides all appear to be natural releases. I hate to see what the bigger slopes were doing.
The slides were all skier triggered, up to 30 yards away--fairly sensitive. They all broke on at the classic location on convex surfaces. Visibility was very poor due to wind and snow. I didn't see any naturals.
What time were your photos taken?
I was the alecapone on Heather and it was fairly stable until 12-1PM when it started to get loaded up with the new snow. Also, the wind was very mellow at appx 5mph so the wind loading wasn't as severe.
I was the alecapone on Heather and it was fairly stable until 12-1PM when it started to get loaded up with the new snow. Also, the wind was very mellow at appx 5mph so the wind loading wasn't as severe.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: