Observation: Turnagain

Location: Seattle Ridge / Main Bowl

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Common moto uptrack to Seattle Ridge. Started off in the Sunnyside trees. Dropped into Main Bowl around 1:00 pm.
The DOT snowblower cleared the TCan and Moto lots. Unsure if he was also clearing Center Ridge and Johnson.

Red Flags
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Observer Comments

Lots of wind affected areas, some wind crusts and punchy areas on exposed aspects.

So many glide cracks! A very large one in Main Bowl. Possibly a second across from Repeat Offender. Multiple below Seattle Ridge.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

Cold! -18F at Johnson Pass turnoff. Slightly below zero in the Moto lot. Inverted temps on the ridge, felt around 15F in the sun. Clear skis until about 2:00pm and the winds kicked up. Visibility was deteriorating by 3:00pm with pluming off Pyramid. It was starting to snow in the parking lot by 4:00pm.

Snow surface

Thick rain crust below treeline. By the first bench of the uptrack conditions improved significantly. Kind of a strange 4-6” of soft snow above another stout crust which seemed to diminish with elevation. Lots of wind effected areas with an occasional thin surface crust. Great riding conditions if you looked around a little.

Snowpack

Measured 240cm in Main Bowl around a tracked up area. Thought I could feel the TG crust at 160cm. No formal pits dug. Excellent December coverage!

Photos & Video
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