Temperatures were in the single digits F down in the valleys, making for a very cold ride in this morning. Temps felt like mid 20's F at ridgetops this afternoon, with sunny skies and very light winds.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Lynx Creek
We rode up Lynx Creek to get eyes on the snowpack at the south end of Turnagain Pass. The only avalanche concern we noted today was the ongoing very active glide cycle, which has hit the Lynx Creek area just as hard as the rest of the advisory area. While some route finding was made a bit more complicated because of active glide cracks, we felt good enough about the snowpack in general to step out into bigger terrain. We had a great time skiing and riding some steep terrain on Captain’s Chair and in the upper Lynx Creek drainage.
Weather
Snow surface
Surfaces are variable. We found a few sheltered pockets with soft dry snow above around 3000', but most slopes either had a thin rime crust or thin breakable wind slabs on the surface.
Snowpack
The only avalanche we saw (besides all of the glide activity) was a small, old wind slab avalanche at the top of the Lynx Creek drainage. We played around on multiple small but steep test slopes without any signs of unstable snow, and we saw more tracks than we've ever seen in the Lynx Creek area without any signs of avalanche activity. All of this is making us feel confident in the snowpack for now. We dug a pit on a NW slope at 3250' before we really got into big terrain just to double check our assessment, and didn't see anything concerning in the upper 4' of the snowpack. This long stretch of cold and clear weather is driving the faceting process with the snow on the surface, but that won't be a concern until we get another storm. See attached snowpit profile for snowpack details.
Closeup of some of the glide activity. 01.20.2024
A whole mess of glide cracks in the main bowl of Captain's Chair in the foreground, with a recent glide avalanche on the west side of Lynx Creek in the background on the left side of the frame. 01.20.2024
The only avalanche we saw was the small older wind slab just below the cornice on the right side of this frame, up at the top of the Lynx Creek drainage. 01.20.2024
Looking back down Lynx Creek with Seattle Ridge in the sun in the background this afternoon. 01.20.2024
Closeup of the old wind slab. 01.20.2024
Snowpack details from a northwest aspect at 3250 ft. 01.20.2024