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December 6, Stevens Southback

12/6/15
WA Stevens Pass
3758
4
Posted by JimD on 12/6/15 7:00am
Had to be home early so we only got one run to the bottom of the south side. Over a foot of new skied quite alright, not fluffy, but tons-o-fun for the powder starved. Things were starting to warm up by the time we climbed back out.

We tried to get an early start, but got stopped for ~40 min. at the bottom of Tye Mill because the patrol was blasting on the ridge of Cowboy. Got a few detailed lectures from patrollers about watching out for avy control, and the dangers on the back side. One guy suggested we head across the street to avoid all the BS - I wish.
Also did a lap on the backside after riding lifts on the front for much of the morning. Remotely triggered a 1 1/2 foot crown on a convex face under the power lines near Gemini.  Skiing was heavy but fun. When we skinned back out, Patrol told us that they had heard a report of a burial in Corona Bowl, so had closed the area.

author=RossMac link=topic=34987.msg143624#msg143624 date=1449499230]
When we skinned back out, Patrol told us that they had heard a report of a burial in Corona Bowl, so had closed the area.



Wow, really scary. Thanks for the update.

I also headed up there yesterday. We left at 6:30am, got the 2nd to last parking spot in the super-close lot by 8:10am, and were skinning by 8:30am. Went up and over the Big Chief + Double Black line (the chairs were not in operation) and skied down in perfect, light fluffy pow right under Jupiter chair. Skinned back up to the top where we were met by warming temps and rising winds from the West. We skied down the backside again for about 500' but called it due to changing snow conditions + general fatigue. After climbing again, we came back down Chief at 12:30pm to find the snow completely changed to wet, heavy, cementy mank. Super mank. I fell down at one point becuase it was so heavy and it took 5 solid minutes of wallowing before I could free myself and stand back up to suffer the rest of the way down. Conditions definitely went from super fun, non-reactive to super-scary, immediately cementing schmoo in the course of 4 hours.

Pictures of light fluffy in the morning and cascade cement in the early afternoon.

RossMac, here is a grainy photo of the slab you kicked off (I think that's the one you mentioned).  We also saw a slab that had already released on the way up Double Diamond (see picture below).  We did two compression tests around 4400 feet on the backside that failed when isolating the column down 75 (CTV SPQ1).  You don't see that too often in the PNW.  Definitely touchy conditions out there yesterday.

RossMac, here is a grainy photo of the slab you kicked off (I think that's the one you mentioned).

Thanks -- your picture is the one that triggered when one of our party was skiing about 20 feet away.  Scary!

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december-6-stevens-southback
JimD
2015-12-06 15:00:03