December 19, 2015, Snoqualmie Pass
12/19/15
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2913
2
Oodles of settled pow (settlement cones of 12" or more) skied nicely on all aspects as Susan and I introduced Seth to Snoqualmie. Fattest skis were useful for trailbreaking. Got heavier later in the day, but still excellent. Cloudy much of the day, but sunbreaks kept it pretty.
Natural crowns on the steep open slopes above the middle Kendall Lake. Dendrites on trees and surface hoar above 5400' at the col. Kickturn corners popped out readily above 5k. Palpable instability was concentrated on the thin crust 18" down.
Surprised to see how thrashed Commonwealth got, but also how lonely a day we could find. Lots of new faces and a few familiar ones. The luge track was funny-shaped in the morning, but had restored its usual character by 4:15pm.
Quick edit to add: Tree wells aren't super hungry yet, but they were starting to nibble at our skis when breaking trail.
Natural crowns on the steep open slopes above the middle Kendall Lake. Dendrites on trees and surface hoar above 5400' at the col. Kickturn corners popped out readily above 5k. Palpable instability was concentrated on the thin crust 18" down.
Surprised to see how thrashed Commonwealth got, but also how lonely a day we could find. Lots of new faces and a few familiar ones. The luge track was funny-shaped in the morning, but had restored its usual character by 4:15pm.
Quick edit to add: Tree wells aren't super hungry yet, but they were starting to nibble at our skis when breaking trail.
Careful out there! Saw some questionable terrain choices today including one group that triggered a sizable slab below a steep col. We easily found Thursday's windslab sheering on the old snow and stayed off the steeps, as wonderful as they looked. Excellent skiing at and below tree line, amazing to see the increase in depth and improved travel conditions in two days.
And, for completeness, here's the temperature profile for the day. Spikes to higher temperatures come from (I believe) sunbreaks and when the temperature sensor touches the snow.
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