January 19, Yodelin
1/15/08
WA Stevens Pass
2115
1
Doreen and I spent Saturday at Yodelin. This was her first winter backcountry tour. Other than some painful boot issues she did great. Conditions were variable: consolidated and chunky in the old growth with lots of large tree bombs, smooth and fun in the young forest (former clear cuts). This was my first time in the Yodelin area and it seems like a good, relatively safe area for a stormy day. Some of the slopes in the old-growth were approaching 35 degrees and would merit caution if the avalanche hazard was high.
On Saturday the snow seemed pretty stable in this area. We dug a pit on a north-northwest facing slope in mature forest. There was a shallow layer (~10 inches deep) that took an elbow swing to release. There was another layer at 3 feet that I couldn't get to release even with a full arm swing. However, the two foot slab above it did break out cleanly with a shovel pry behind the slab.
We forgot the camera...
On Saturday the snow seemed pretty stable in this area. We dug a pit on a north-northwest facing slope in mature forest. There was a shallow layer (~10 inches deep) that took an elbow swing to release. There was another layer at 3 feet that I couldn't get to release even with a full arm swing. However, the two foot slab above it did break out cleanly with a shovel pry behind the slab.
We forgot the camera...