Observation: Turnagain

Location: Center Ridge

Date:

January 20, 2024 3:00pm

Observer:

Andy Moderow

Route & General Observations

Center ridge tour (to the far end of the ridge)

Red Flags

Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.

Observer Comments

Glide cracks continue to open in the past few days... two small ones on Eddies and Tincan on more westerly (road facing) aspects that are closer to commonly skied faces in treeline that weren't present Monday. Cracks are also browner on Seattle Ridge compared to Monday, either from a dusting of snow melting and/or from the cracks opening up further! See photos below for cracks on the Library - no avalanches on the Library yet, just cracks.

Skier triggered loose snow avalanches in the steeps of the library from recent days, ~D1 to D1.5 in the most skied chutes. Some minor natural loose snow avalanche activity likely from yesterday's warming, with some point releases starting at steep solar aspect rock bands. Cornices along the library - while not as large as they often get - were still intact.

Several older large crowns on a high elevation NW aspect between Tincan Peak and Pastoral, including one that failed mid slope. Didn't see evidence of debris, so guessing these are 1+ week old (see photos below).

Weather & Snow Characteristics

Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.

Weather

Cold and clear in the parking lot, warming to probably the teens on Center Ridge
Light winds from the east at the back of the ridge, but otherwise calm

Snow surface

Soft snow with ski penetration of 4-6" below 1500', with wind affect reducing ski penetration to .5 - 4" higher up. Truly impressive surface hoar - averaging 10-20mm in wind protected locations - up to 1500'. Above this the surface hoar was smaller in wind protected locations, but generally couldn't be found in open areas along the ridge, which showed signs of winds in the past week particularly towards the back of the valley.

Snowpack

No formal stability tests.

Photos & Video

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Impressive glide cracks below the library, with a few smaller less obvious ones within some of the chutes as well. Debris in gullies appeared to generally be skier triggered, though some natural loose activity also occurred, likely during yesterday's inversion warmup.

Closeup of the library ridgeline, including some small loose snow releases starting just below solar aspect rock bands.

Glides below hippy bowl and the dog leg in the standard Tincan common uptrack

Last week's glide avalanches adjacent to the motorized side uptrack, with additional cracks that have yet to release nearby

Recent winds did a number to the Taylor Pass area, as seen from the back of Center Ridge.

Older crowns on the ridgeline between Pastoral and Tincan Peak; difficult light, but without evidence of debris guessing these are 1+ week old.

An additional old crown on the ridgeline between Pastoral and Tincan Peak, this one mid slope

Large surface hoar - 10-20mm in size - below 1500' in wind protected areas.

Some areas of even larger surface hoar, as well!

Location

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