No glide cracks observed in God's Country area but many new cracks were observed opening along Seattle Ridge.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: God's Country
Followed the power lines from the road, cutting into the trees and gaining the bench features to a high point of 2050′. Looking to observe the surface conditions and for the presence of buried surface hoar under the New Years storm snow.
Observer Comments
Weather
Clear sky
Single digit temps at the road
Increasing to low teens by highest elevation point (2050')
No precip
Calm winds
Snow surface
A crust present at all elevations
Thick surface melt-freeze crust with surface hoar on top until 600'
600-1200' -Variable 1-2" breakable melt-freeze crust
1200-1500' -Variable <1" melt-freeze crust
Above 1500'- Loss of rain crust, became a thin eggshell crust with 2-4" of near surface facets and 2mm surface hoar atop it
Above 1800'- Variable wind and rime effected surface
NSF directly below crust, followed by firm snow
Snowpack
Primary snowpack focus was the existence and reactivity of the buried surface hoar layer. We we able to find BSH in our upper 2 pit locations (1550' and 2050'), but only found propagation propensity in two 1550' pits with some spatial variability to the third pit on the same elevation band, which couldn't get a collapse on the BSH.
At 2050' the BSH existed in all three locations, but didn't show propagation propensity at this time.
Test Pit #1- Lower God's Country - 900' - SE - HS: 110
CT19 down 50cm on facets in between a crust interface
CT23 down 25cm on crust/not a clean break
Test Pit #2-Mid God's Country - 1550' - SE - 29* - HS:160cm
CT16 down 30cm on precip fragments
CT 17 down 60cm on BSH
CT23 down 55cm on BSH
ECTPN14 down 25cm on precip fragments
ECTP16 down 55cm on BSH
ECTP26 down 60cm on BSH
(3 pits dug at this elevation, 2 with similar results 1 with no propagation propensity)
Test Pit #3- Upper God's Country - 2050' - SE - 31* - HS:115
CT 15 and CT 13 down 30cm on broken precip and small (hard to find BSH)
ECTX
(3 pits dug at this elevation band, all with similar results)
Small natural (D1) old storm slab crowns visible on SE roll features above 2000'.
Surface conditions and crust ~ 300'
Surface grains, NSF and SH at 600'
God's Country Test Pit #1 - 900'
Surface condition and crust below 1550' test pit locations - 1400'
Spatial variability of test pits - 1550'
ECT results on the Christmas BSH layer -1550'
6mm SH on 2mm grid - 1550'
Snow Surface above 1800' - SE God's Country
Surface conditions and crust - 2050'
Small natural avalanches above 2000' on SE Aspect