Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

We toured between 5400' and 6000' on low angle terrain with a N to NE aspect on Slide Ridge in the Chelan Mountains. The snow surface quality changed significantly during our tour. The travel quality was quite good during the first lap and only noticed roller balls and only noticed a wetter, more dense snow near the lowest point of the day while on skis. Our second lap occurred after digging a snow assessment pit and the surface quality had degraded significantly. What had skied pretty good had become quite sticky and required straight-lining just to maintain any forward momentum. Our pit revealed an HS of 138 cm and faceting below a well formed crust at 25 cm from the surface (MLK?) and basal faceting. Both facet layers were quite thick >5 cm thick. An ECTX and CTN suggests these layers are quite stubborn. We did not observe any old signs of avalanches even on some of the steeper terrain near Stormy Mountain. However I think keeping these layers in mind will be important as the season continues.