Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Skinned up south face of Snoqualmie with hopes of skiing The Slot. Widespread firm, wind-effected snow above treeline (above roughly 5100ft).

Performed a hand shear test slightly above treeline while waiting for partners, at maybe 5300ft or so on a SSW facing aspect. A 6+ inch thick wind slab broke cleanly off the top of the column with moderate pressure. The snow was brittle and we observed a small amount of cracking along our skin track, although the cracks did not propagate so I wouldn't quite call them "shooting". We were not in steep terrain at the time, but decided not to venture further and turned around.

We also had concerns that the exit climb from the Thunder Creek Basin may have been wind loaded as well, and that the climb looked a bit spicy with current conditions. Probably doable, but today wasn't the day for me. There were two tracks visible down The Snot, but unclear if they were from today, or how they exited (if they booted up the normal exit, then their tracks must have been filled in by wind).

The snow down in the trees was far fluffier and nicer than the wind-effected snow above. Starting to consolidate a bit, and some very minor sun crust in exposed places, but nice skiing overall. Further down, there is still a lot of bushwhacking and cliffy lines that aren't well covered.