Partly cloudy skies
Valley fog in the morning
Temps in the 20Fs
Calm
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Twin Peaks
Skinned up the eastern face of Twin Peaks to treeline ~2800′. Surface condition inventory and tracking v-day facets/bsh and MLK bsh.
Weather
Snow surface
Surface hoar and new stellars over all surfaces to our high point at 2800' including:
Soft near surface facets
Melt-freeze crust on anything with a slightly southerly kick and a bit of slope angle.
Wind effect as we got closer to treeline that was a mix of wind crust, satrugi and rime crust.
Snowpack
There were three of us and we each dug at pit at two locations.
We found somewhat similar overall structure but had a few differences with v-day layer and MLK layer.
1)Pit at 2450' (see photo)
v-day layer was buried surface hoar (6-8mm) and .5mm facets. Slightly more protected location than two pits just above at 2500'
2)Pit at 2500', East, HS=144cm, 34* slope
CT19, CT21 failed 25cm down on v-day facets (.5mm)
CT23 failed 37cm down on MLK BSH/facets/crust combo Q2
ECTX
3) Pit at 2500'
v-day layer was facets. CT 20 ECTX
No MLK found
1)Pit at 2800', ESE, HS=147cm, 33* slope (see photo)
CT21, CT18 failed 20cm down on v-day facets (.5mm)
STH failed 40cm down on MLK layer (BSH did not fail, but sheared under crust on .5mm facets)
2) Pit at 2800' CT 20, ECTP 21 on v-day facets 20 cm down under wind slab
3) Pit at 2800' CT 22 on v-day facets 20 cm down, ECTX
Melt-freeze crust with surface hoar and stellars 1200'
Melt-freeze crust at 2800'
Surface hoar on wind crust
Wind effect near treeline
Small wind slab likely from one of the NW wind events and anti-tracks
NW wind triggered avalanche observed 2-19-19
Small glide cracks and small wet-loose avalanches (from last week's warm-up)
Looking towards the Silvertip ridge and avalanche debris in the valley
Pit @ 2450'
Pit at 2800'