Obscured cloud cover with light snow until clearing started around 130 or 200 pm. Calm winds and warm temperatures during the cloud cover but temperatures felt colder once the clouds cleared. We saw some active wind loading on upper elevation ridgelines once the clouds cleared.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Lipps
Toured up to 2200′ on the SW shoulder of Lipps and then crossed Spokane creek over to Pete’s N for a second set of pits.
Weather
Snow surface
About 4-8" of new snow. It was settled but not wind effected in most areas.
Snowpack
We dug snowpits at 2000' on a W aspect along the SW ridge of Lipps and at 2100' on the N aspect of Pete's N.
On Lipps we had propagation on a storm interface about 30 cm (12") down from the surface (ECT P 14). It took multiple hits for the fracture to propagate all the way across the block. The 1/10 buried surface hoar was 100 cm (40") down and had no results in this pit.
On Pete's N we had propagation on a weak layer about 15cm (6") deep, that might have been the most recent surface hoar layer from 2/15. We also had propagation on the 1/10 buried surface hoar in one pit (ECT P 15). This pit had a shallow overall snowpack and the 1/10 BSH was only 50 cm (20") deep. In an adjacent pit we did a propagation saw test which propagated to the end with a moderate cut length (35/100 end). Both these results indicate the the 1/10 BSH was reactive in this area and it is possible for a person to trigger from a thin spot.
Storm interface that propagated in our first pit on Lipps at 2000'.
Cloud cover cleared in the afternoon and revealed some widespread wind texture on the snow surface at upper elevations.
Snowpack structure from Pete's N
Clouds breaking up on the southern end of Turnagain Pass, but lingering longer on the north end.