With over three weeks now of nearly no precipitation, our snowpack is old, tired and slowing being eaten away by cold and clear weather. Impressive surface hoar sits over faceted snow at the mid elevations while the upper elevations are a combination of several inches of faceted snow with varying degrees of older wind crusts. The good news is, there is a pattern change on the doorstep! We have warm and moist southerly flow on tap this coming week. The question is, how much precipitation will make it over the mountains from the Sound to our area?
For those getting out today, we do have a few surface instabilities to watch out for:
Wind Slabs
Keep an eye out for stiff and shallow wind slabs formed by Friday’s strong winds, mainly in the Girdwood Valley area. Although these are expected to be relatively small, they are likely to be sitting on weak faceted snow and hard enough to allow a person onto one before it pops out. Seeking out the softer non-wind affected snow will be key for not only good turns, but avoiding one of these pockets as well.
Sluffs
Shallow sluffs on steep slopes, over 40 degrees, should be expected. These continue to be generally low volume and fairly slow moving.
Although the “ski/rideable” snow line remains high (1,500′ or so), there are still good turns to be salvaged! Most of Turnagain Pass was spared by the winds on Friday. Seattle Ridge is one of the windier spots at the Pass and still sports a couple inches of loose snow on the ridge proper. (Photo looking South, taken by Andy Moderow)
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