We had mostly clear skies and light winds with occasional gusts at high points. Temperatures ranged from high 30’s F by the car to just above freezing at 2100'
Observation: Seward
Location: Lost Lake
We rodeup to 2,200’ looking for recent avalanches and to see how the snowpack was responding to high winds, snow, and warmer temperatures this week. We saw an avalanche on Resurrection North Peak below the ridge around 4,000’ and small wet loose avalanches on south slopes that were baking in the sun. We had no concerning results in our pit, however it is important to mention that the snowpack stability varies in the Seward zone. Further north in the Carter Lake area on Feb 7th we posted an observation that did produce concerning results in our pit.
Weather
Snow surface
The snow surface varied with elevation. The snow up fireman's to the cabin was mushy. There was a blend of heavy settled snow, dryer powder, and wind affected snow. In some sheltered areas, surface hoar was growing on the surface.
Snowpack
We dug a pit at 2100' on a west facing slope. There was 4.5ft of snow in this area (140cm). Overall, our tests did not produce concerning results. The January facet layer was buried about 1.5ft deep and appeared to be more stable in our pit than the snowpack in the Carter Lake area. See attached snowpit profile for detailed snowpack info.
Large slab avalanche on a southeast slope on Resurrection North Peak.
Wet loose avalanches on slopes getting baked by the sun.
Melt-freeze crust at 1,700' with surface hoar on the surface.
Snowpit Profile. 02.15.2024