High clouds, moderate temps with a slight inversion, calm winds.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Lipps
Skinned up to the ridge on Lipps and skied the ssw aspect and lower west aspect. Boot deep ski penetration breaking trail. Faceting snow with small hoar frost down low (~1,100 ft). Clean hand shears at the new snow interface with a moderate amount of force in hand pits. Couldn’t get wind slabs to react on roll overs. Good skiing. Alders are getting beat down!
Weather
Snow surface
Icy crust to about 900 ft. Surface facets and hoar frost forming up to approximately 1100 ft. Slight wind texturing up high. Good skiing.
Snowpack
Dug a pit just below the ridge on a 25 degree slope on a southwest aspect at 3100 feet. Thought we felt basal facets probing in the vicinity of the pit, but did not find any in our pit (possible localized basal facets around an outcrop). Height of snow 140 cm. New snow right side up fist to 1 finger 140-81cm. 1 mm facets on top of the Thanksgiving rain crust (TRC) at 80 cm. Poorly defined facets below the TRC. Bottom 80 cm of snow very dense 1 finger to pencil hardness. Bottom of the pit was knife hard ice. ECTN 25 at facets on top of the Thanksgiving rain crust.
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