On our drive to Snug Harbor, we saw southwest winds blowing snow on the ridgelines. At 2300’ in the V-Max area, low clouds and moderate winds out of the southeast were funneling through the valley. Ridgelines were stripped of snow on the mountains. Steady snow all day picked up in the afternoon with about 3” in the parking lot.
Observation: Seward
Location: V-Max
We snowmachined from Snug Harbor to the V-Max area to check out snow conditions. The creek below V-Max had a snowbridge that supported our sleds but could use a few more storms. We dug a pit at 2300’, curious to see how stable the snowpack is. We did not see any avalanches on our tour but poor visibility made it hard to see.
Weather
Snow surface
At the parking lot there was a thin rain crust layer on the surface. Higher up the surface was smooth soft snow.
Snowpack
We dug a pit at 2300’ on a west aspect. The snow depth in our pit was around 4ft (125cm). The Thanksgiving crust was about 1’ (31cm) from the bottom. Overall, the snowpack did not have any concerning instability results. That being said, we still have limited information about this area. If you see avalanches or dig in the snow, send us an observation!
Pass to Boulder Creek. 1.4.2024
Wind affected slope in the pass to Boulder Creek. 1.4.2024
Snowpack showing poor structure at 2300' in the V-Max area. 1.4.24
Snowpilot of V-Max 1.4.2024