Home > Trip Reports > January 30, 2010; Diamond Head

January 30, 2010; Diamond Head

1/15/10
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Posted by Marcus on 1/30/10 2:06pm
We set out east today, in hopes of finding dryer/colder snow than was evident at Snoqualmie, where it was 29 degrees and lightly snowing on a wet road at 8 a.m.  Headed out from Tronsen Meadows as one of two cars in the lot at 9:45, with Anastasia, Jessica, Suzanne and Hopi (the four-legs).  The mellow climb up the ridge off the north end of Diamond Head made for an excellent warm-up and we rounded onto the NE slopes in good time.  We stopped shy of the top, as some in the group were newer to b/c snow conditions -- turns out it was unfounded.  10-12" of fantastic old powder and enough of it for everyone.

The cover is awfully thin up there in the woods, but the open slopes/glades skied just fantastically.  North facing stuff is in great shape right now.

5800' NE aspect, 34 degrees, CT24 8".  This was just a settlement, but the layer released Q1 with light pressure from a shovel shear.  Pit to ground in this location was only 3' deep, at most, over rocks with plenty of loose rounds at the bottom.
Hey Marcus, good to know it's still holding in on the NE.  I was wondering if the sun would have gotten to it later this week.  We dug there on Wed as well.  At first we were surprised at how light the shovel shear pressure needed to be to get the old powder to slide on the crust, but our CT result was high 20's also.  You might have seen that we didn't fill in the pit (not really in anyone's potential line).  But we thought others could perhaps continue to work the pit right there.  In the absence on new snow, sun, and/or wind do you think the results still have merit as time passes?  The slope was getting hit pretty hard and I didn't want to see pits getting put in in lots of locations. 
John

Hello John, re old pits:
1) I wouldn't use an old pit to get current stability info - weather impacts on the sidewalls ( heat transfer from sun or air temp and possible precip. or wind impacts) will change the dynamics around those areas, making the pit irrelevant (or possibly give dangerously false stable readings) to anyone subsequently using it, ................hence,
2) Just like filling in your divot on the golf course or picking up your dog's poo, filling in ones pit has practical, safety and aesthetic value.  Personally I'd rather not ski through or see an old pit - wherever it lies.

author=GerryH link=topic=15413.msg64485#msg64485 date=1264964264]
Hello John, re old pits:
1) I wouldn't use an old pit to get current stability info - weather impacts on the sidewalls ( heat transfer from sun or air temp and possible precip. or wind impacts) will change the dynamics around those areas, making the pit irrelevant (or possibly give dangerously false stable readings) to anyone subsequently using it, ................hence,
2) Just like filling in your divot on the golf course or picking up your dog's poo, filling in ones pit has practical, safety and aesthetic value.  Personally I'd rather not ski through or see an old pit - wherever it lies.


Good points, Gerry.  Thanks for chiming in.
John

We saw your tracks yesterday on a tour of Little Diamond Head and environs.  Good snow.  Busy place.

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Marcus
2010-01-30 22:06:45