Dec 23, 2016, Great Scott bowl, Source Lk vicinity
12/23/16
2323
1
About 4-6" of light new snow poorly bonded to the crust below on the approach up to Great Scott Bowl. Viz was off and on... new snow in the bowl itself varied due to where the wind had piled it up. The crust got more firm on the approach to Pineapple Pass- you could bust the crust with a shovel blade but skis kinda skittered on top....ski crampons were very handy/necessary.
The best turns were back in the trees where the breakable crust could be beaten down and the new snow made things predictable enough to still link some fun turns.
Dug a big pit on a north aspect about 5200ft- about 4" under the crust there was a layer that sheared very cleanly on our column...guessing thats the Dec 17th persistent weak layer the NWAC report mentioned.
Didn't bother heading back up for a second lap- lap 2 was at Summit West- a skiff of new snow over groomers made for easier turning over there.
The best turns were back in the trees where the breakable crust could be beaten down and the new snow made things predictable enough to still link some fun turns.
Dug a big pit on a north aspect about 5200ft- about 4" under the crust there was a layer that sheared very cleanly on our column...guessing thats the Dec 17th persistent weak layer the NWAC report mentioned.
Didn't bother heading back up for a second lap- lap 2 was at Summit West- a skiff of new snow over groomers made for easier turning over there.
experienced very similar conditions on Mt. Snoqualmie. The phantom slide path skied better than expected, open areas were best where it was wind protected. Poor bonding between new snow and ice layer.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: