November 16, 2013, Stevens
11/16/13
WA Stevens Pass
1804
1
Skiing quite good. Pow skis, not rock skis. Snow partially upside down. Easy Q2 shears at the new/old interface, where fist-hard new didn't stick well to pencil-hard old. Two notable slides "inbounds" on that layer.
First half-lap was on short 75 mm rock skis. The snow was good, rocks were rare, and tips were getting trapped under somewhat upside-down snow. Back to the car for my usual winter skis.
Met a friend atop the Chief who mentioned having seen a ~60'-wide slide, which led me to select a more-careful route down the backside (Thanks Doug!).
Top half of the backside skied really well; smooth, fast, and fairly light. Bottom half was knee+deep, inverted, and heavy. On the uptrack, two slides were apparent (see photos). Both seem to have gone on the new/old interface. Propagation, especially on the higher-elevation Slide A, was wider than I expected from the snow consistency. Flipped beacon to receive on both deposition zones; didn't hear a piep.
Skied the top of the backside again, then dropped through the trees skier's left of Double Diamond. Trees were tighter in there, but the old-snow base was substantial-enough to make skiing fun. New-old bond in the trees was poor, but the new snow was loose, dry, and fun over the edgeable/scratchy old. Lower half had a billy-goat feel. Wind-effect was present anywhere unsheltered on the top half of the frontside.
A grey heli, perhaps smaller than a Huey, came low through the pass at 11 am -- anyone have the story?
Layers of concern were the new/old interface and the occasional storm layer. Wind moved snow all day.
Slide
First half-lap was on short 75 mm rock skis. The snow was good, rocks were rare, and tips were getting trapped under somewhat upside-down snow. Back to the car for my usual winter skis.
Met a friend atop the Chief who mentioned having seen a ~60'-wide slide, which led me to select a more-careful route down the backside (Thanks Doug!).
Top half of the backside skied really well; smooth, fast, and fairly light. Bottom half was knee+deep, inverted, and heavy. On the uptrack, two slides were apparent (see photos). Both seem to have gone on the new/old interface. Propagation, especially on the higher-elevation Slide A, was wider than I expected from the snow consistency. Flipped beacon to receive on both deposition zones; didn't hear a piep.
Skied the top of the backside again, then dropped through the trees skier's left of Double Diamond. Trees were tighter in there, but the old-snow base was substantial-enough to make skiing fun. New-old bond in the trees was poor, but the new snow was loose, dry, and fun over the edgeable/scratchy old. Lower half had a billy-goat feel. Wind-effect was present anywhere unsheltered on the top half of the frontside.
A grey heli, perhaps smaller than a Huey, came low through the pass at 11 am -- anyone have the story?
Layers of concern were the new/old interface and the occasional storm layer. Wind moved snow all day.
Slide
Another excellent report confirming what should have been anticipated danger conditions given recent weather. Thanks for posting this + the details.
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