December 15, 2018, Snoqualmie Pass
12/15/18
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2468
4
A remarkably pretty day spent showing Richard around low-angle Pass terrain. We spent 95% of our day outside of avalanche terrain, and only entered avalanche terrain that was either still fully terrain-anchored or, in one brief case, had been hammered hard by recent avalanches. It was a heartwarming surprise to see many extremely popular areas of avalanche terrain without a track -- thank you all for giving the persistent weak layer the respect it deserves.
Weather: Easterly flow produced clouds to the East of ~Exit 54 for much of the day. Elsewhere, high clouds gave way to blue sky until ~1pm, becoming fully overcast by 4pm. Winds were variable, but occasionally as stout as Moderate on ridgetops, moving snow.
Snowpack: Surface character from pass level to 5k was largely coated with a crust within 5 cm of the surface. Fine-grain graupel was present on the surface in many locations from pass level to 5k, and moving with the wind. Quick profiles showed another crust midway through the ~1m snowpack at 4k, and fairly wet facets near the ground at both 4k and 5k.
Avalanche: No activity observed, and I was surprised that we got no reactivity from the snow as we traveled. Lots of small debris on many paths, and many cliff faces had slid, but few, if any, crowns were prominent, as most open slopes appear to have been windbuffed.
Ski quality: Poor, with the occasional good turn on drifted snow above the crust or where the crust was soft above 4.5-5k. Mostly crust. Did not sample open terrain.
As a final note, partway through the day, I broke one of the heelpieces on my 05/06 Dynafit Comforts, bringing an end to many hundreds of days of reliable service. They were the first bindings I'd ever bought. Thank you, Dynafit, for making a reliable tool that transformed my life. Thank you, Voile, for making things work again when they stop working.
Weather: Easterly flow produced clouds to the East of ~Exit 54 for much of the day. Elsewhere, high clouds gave way to blue sky until ~1pm, becoming fully overcast by 4pm. Winds were variable, but occasionally as stout as Moderate on ridgetops, moving snow.
Snowpack: Surface character from pass level to 5k was largely coated with a crust within 5 cm of the surface. Fine-grain graupel was present on the surface in many locations from pass level to 5k, and moving with the wind. Quick profiles showed another crust midway through the ~1m snowpack at 4k, and fairly wet facets near the ground at both 4k and 5k.
Avalanche: No activity observed, and I was surprised that we got no reactivity from the snow as we traveled. Lots of small debris on many paths, and many cliff faces had slid, but few, if any, crowns were prominent, as most open slopes appear to have been windbuffed.
Ski quality: Poor, with the occasional good turn on drifted snow above the crust or where the crust was soft above 4.5-5k. Mostly crust. Did not sample open terrain.
As a final note, partway through the day, I broke one of the heelpieces on my 05/06 Dynafit Comforts, bringing an end to many hundreds of days of reliable service. They were the first bindings I'd ever bought. Thank you, Dynafit, for making a reliable tool that transformed my life. Thank you, Voile, for making things work again when they stop working.
Thanks for the heads up and great TR Charlie. amazed you got 13+ years out of your Comforts!!
"Ski quality: Poor"
Yes, it was a pretty day, but I think you are being too kind regarding the suitability of the current "snowpack" for the fickle activity of strapping barrel staves to ones' feet. We went to yodelin under the mistaken impression that there was more coverage than there is. It was a good lesson in plant identification and woodworking. But there are no kind or socially acceptable words for the functionality of the spare amounts of the crystalline form of water for skiing. It was the skier's equivalent of driving southbound on SR 99 right before a mariners game....
Yes, it was a pretty day, but I think you are being too kind regarding the suitability of the current "snowpack" for the fickle activity of strapping barrel staves to ones' feet. We went to yodelin under the mistaken impression that there was more coverage than there is. It was a good lesson in plant identification and woodworking. But there are no kind or socially acceptable words for the functionality of the spare amounts of the crystalline form of water for skiing. It was the skier's equivalent of driving southbound on SR 99 right before a mariners game....
Ski quality was pretty good on the private resort groomers at Central. They were still prepping for an opening, so it was just the tourists out for a skin and ski. And, honestly, with fatties the low angle off-piste skied surprisingly well.
:). Glad it was better down there -- there's a chance that open slopes would have skied well up higher, too, but we essentially didn't touch them. The trees held a scratchy and slightly-breakable crust. That, combined with low snowpack height and substantial tree bombing, kept speeds slow. I just saw a social-media video from yesterday that suggested reasonable ski quality on open slopes up high at Snoqualmie.
More careful study of photos did turn up a sizeable crown in the bowl below Chair's E face, spanning the visible extent of the bowl. There is a chance that I'm seeing crowns at the ridgelines on other slopes too; if so, it is a full-slope slide character that I've never seen before.
More careful study of photos did turn up a sizeable crown in the bowl below Chair's E face, spanning the visible extent of the bowl. There is a chance that I'm seeing crowns at the ridgelines on other slopes too; if so, it is a full-slope slide character that I've never seen before.
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