Observation: NWAC Forecaster

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Weather Summary

Overcast conditions started to give way to incoming weather by the time we left the field at 12:00. Winds were generally calm down low but got gusty as we ascended Great Scott Bowl toward Pineapple Pass. By the time we got back to North Bend, a few flurries had started to fall.

Avalanche Observation Comments:

Fairly quick morning tour up to Pineapple Pass. Noticed a few recent Dry Loose avalanches from the past few days. Was able to push a little snow on some steeper rolls that had dry loose characteristics. No new avalanches were observed today.

Snowpack Observations

Plenty of evidence of the wind affecting the snow around Alpental Valley. We found textured surfaces and some deeper drifts. In many locations, we found that there was a very shallow wind skiff on the surface that cracked easily, hard to call it a Wind Slab. The new snow still generally lacks a lot of cohesion at lower elevations but as we approached the ridgeline, snow was a bit more wind-stiffened with isolated areas scoured down to the crust. On our descent, we noticed that our skin track had started to get drifted in just like all of yesterday's tracks had been.