"Snow Doughnuts"...anyone seen one?

Snow donuts seen off the Snoqualmie Middle Fork today! I saw at least 50 of them fallen over, but none standing.

Here's another to add to the collection, this one with a icing of freshies and fine surface hoar sprinkles:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/462824613_effbd929a1.jpg?v=0

Found it on a west facing slope below some rocks at about 5700 in Bullion Basin.

This from the WSDOT website, I think from up by Washington Pass. Their opinion is that they form with the hole in the middle from the genesis.

It's like the "missing" WMD in Iraq: noone in the know can quite explain how what should be there ain't.... ???

The density of snow at higher elevations is less, so as the snow rolls down the slope the low density snow could simply fall out because it was more faceted and had less bonding strength to the other snow, or... as the snow honey bun (soon to be doughnut) consolidates the low density snow (having lower water content) melts out sooner leaving the hole. I would guess that the snow doughneut pic by cascadianwarrior grew a much larger hole before it dissapeared. (like the one pictured by ron j in bullion basin)

fascinating

While touring around Crater Lake this March we saw many snow doughnuts 50 + that were caused by rolling rocks that packed snow around themselves until they stopped under their own weight. Once the sun heated the rocks they fell out of their cozy little snow nest leaving a snow doughnut behind. The rocks then melted into the snow and disappeared (new snow will cover the escape hole leaving behind a mystery). I wish we had a camera but .....

I hope this helps

Climberdave