A trip up to Tincan to see the extent of the recent warming event.
Weather:
Sunny with valley fog. Warm, mid 30’sF treeline and above, 26F at 1,000′ on the
Pass. Calm wind.
Recent avalanches:
Yes. A handful of wet point release avalanches on southerly slopes between
2,000-3,500′. Easy to initiate where surface crusts were melted by daytime sun
(see video). A few naturals were seen on the SE face of Seattle ridge mid-day
(picture). All were gouging into the deeper faceted layers (though the pack is only
15-30″ thick).
Other signs of instability:
Warming on sunny slopes.
No cracking or collapsing.
Snowpack:
The pack was isothermal on sunny slopes with moist facets to the ground. Photo
below. In areas out of the sun the pack appeared to be close to isothermal with
a surface crust.
Surface conditions:
Crusty.
Almost all surfaces sport a rough surface crust anywhere from 2-5+mm. Surface
hoar (2mm) sits on top of this crust in most areas from valleys to ridgetops.
Southerly facing slopes were wet mid-day due to daytime solar radiation.
Human triggered wet point release in Hippy Bowl - 12/7, SSW, 3,500'
Natural wet point releases on the east face of Seattle Ridge - 2,400'
Surface hoar from 12/7 on crust
Pit at 3,400' on a SSW slope. Entire 30" pack composed of moist faceted grains all at 0C (32F).
Predominant surface condition from valley bottom to ridgetop - 3mm crust with surface hoar on top. 2,500'