March 14, 2020, Red Mtn Saddle (Snoqualmie)

Went up to the south-facing saddle between Red Mtn and Lundin East to check out the new snow. Were pleasantly surprised to find 5-6" of very low-density snow, and unsurprised to find it sitting on a very stout melt-freeze crust.

Cold temps and cloudy skies until 2PM kept the snow soft and cold. The firm crust made travel slightly difficult, as skin tracks often slipped out, especially on steeper slopes. As we traveled higher we noticed a slight wind slab forming in the upper 1-2" of the new storm snow, but it was never cohesive and we saw no movement from this layer. Throughout the day we noticed a few dry loose point releases on the upper slopes of Red and Kendall, but they didn't entrain much snow.

Fun to have a mid-winter day feeling in the middle of march.