Observation: Public

Observation Details

Observed Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

I am submitting this due to limited observations posted for higher elevations. From 1/22-1/25 I traveled on all aspects at elevations ranging from 2,700 up to 8,750 ft. It felt much like a spring skiing encounter where timing was everything, and waiting for the optimal time to ski the line made the difference between a difficult descent vs. great corn turns.

At higher elevations 7,000ft and above:
The skiing was much better than expected, with the exception of western aspects that were wind scoured, hardpacked, and barely edgible. Nevertheless, these aspects remained skiable (Note: these western aspects were skied predominately on 1/23). On eastern, southern, and northern aspects, the skiing was good without the presence of the predominant rain crust and wet loose debris noted at lower elevations. There was some evidence of wind drifted snow near ridgelines on a variety of aspects, but it remained shallow and non-reactive. I saw limited wet loose activity at these upper elevations, and the activity I did see only affected the very top layer of the snowpack, without stepping down and entraining more snow. Given enough time to soften up, these aspects provided excellent corn skiing, particularly on eastern and southern aspects. Looking west off to Glacier Peak I saw no evidence of gross wet loose activity at higher elevations.

At lower elevations below 7,000ft:
I encountered multiple slides ranging from D1-D3. The crust was stout, was often "chundery" (particularly in the trees as expected), and there was copious amounts of solid wet loose debris and rain runnels to navigate. If skiing down through this terrain in the morning or later in the day, the travel was heinous, and slow and careful movement was needed to navigate safely.

Ski crampons are our friend. Probably nothing else to add that isn't already well known.