Avalanche Discussion

Gary - If it isn't a secret stash, can you post a map or description of where you were.  Headed out this weekend and want to know if this is in the same general vicinity.

Thanks

Sorry....

I skied near Mt. Baker again today and my sense for the snow there is that it may be more unstable - certainly weaker bonds and less settled - below treeline than above. I notice my skis slipping more while climbing at the lower elevations (again on north slopes).

Skied north facing above treeline (heavily wind affected), north facing below treeline - better snow, and east facing above treeline - good snow but variable in depth over some older harder windslabs and crusts.

The avy guy goes out and finds an avalanche.      Gary, I am really glad that you found your persistent layers and an avalanche to emphasis the point.  Touche.   The point I was trying to make with my court jester comments was that it has been the case in the past on this site that people get in a froth over layers.  I spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies in winter and to me that is a snowpack that has persistent layers.  On my list of concerns for the Baker snowpack, (my stomping grounds),   layers don't even make the list.  More snow, rain events, and the evil snow shoe crowd are what I worry about.

I had an awesome day of backcountry skiing on Saturday in very stable conditions.    I was giving an introductory tour of Baker to Western Freshman and CO skier Louie Dawson and friend Skylar.  At the end of the day he commented, "Wow, we could never ski terrain like this in Colorado in mid-winter".   Welcome, I said, to the beauties of the Maritime snow pack.

picasaweb.google.com/GreggCronn/NoWetAnd...ayWithTheYoungUnsII#

Thanks for putting up with an avalanche dunce and letting me participate in this learned and impressive discussion.  I will now withdraw back into my happy ignorance and let the experts continue. 

Good sking to all and if you see a snow shoe clad idiot destroying someone's finely crafted skin track, start beating them with your pole.  Maybe that will solve the problem.   

"No wet and scrappy here." I love it.

The avy guy goes out and finds an avalanche.      Gary, I am really glad that you found your persistent layers and an avalanche to emphasis the point.  Touche.   The point I was trying to make with my court jester comments was that it has been the case in the past on this site that people get in a froth over layers.  I spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies in winter and to me that is a snowpack that has persistent layers.  On my list of concerns for the Baker snowpack, (my stomping grounds),   layers don't even make the list.  More snow, rain events, and the evil snow shoe crowd are what I worry about.

I had an awesome day of backcountry skiing on Saturday in very stable conditions.    I was giving an introductory tour of Baker to Western Freshman and CO skier Louie Dawson and friend Skylar.  At the end of the day he commented, "Wow, we could never ski terrain like this in Colorado in mid-winter".   Welcome, I said, to the beauties of the Maritime snow pack.

picasaweb.google.com/GreggCronn/NoWetAnd...ayWithTheYoungUnsII#

Thanks for putting up with an avalanche dunce and letting me participate in this learned and impressive discussion.  I will now withdraw back into my happy ignorance and let the experts continue. 

Good sking to all and if you see a snow shoe clad idiot destroying someone's finely crafted skin track, start beating them with your pole.  Maybe that will solve the problem.   

Cool, Greg C. Mostly stable, I'd agree. But mainly because it hasn't been snowing.

I find Baker a lot like the Monashees, less layering except when there is layering. I worry about people developing bad habits by developing sets of expectations that work - most of the time.

Time to get out the shovels. There are some pretty good questions that will need to be asked and an attempt needs to be made to answer them. I guess the scenario with the weak layers is coming out about the best that it can what with warm temperatures and in some areas rain or very wet snow before it really started to turn on. But the rain wasn't all that much and and there should be an upper elevation limit beyond which things may not be as good. It will be interesting also to see if things in the passes and along the east slopes become as stable as in places like Baker and Paradise? It is also nearly March which can make a difference. Finally a real snowstorm, how about that!

I skied near Stevens Pass on Friday and did experience a number of whumpfs the largest of which radiated out from my body about 50'. Several of the whumpfs seemed to be on the buried faceted layer near 4300' in elevation, but another, near 4800' was likely on buried surface hoar (didn't whumpf the same way and was more progressive). Like others I believe it seemed more stable above 5000' to 5500' or so and most unstable in a zone above warming effects from last week and below the deeper snow and inversion top at middle elevations.

There are a lot of interesting observations on the Friends site at www.avalanchenw.org under Snowpack Info Exchange/Search Reports that are worth reading. Also Garth's avalanche forecast detailed a number of incidents fairly widespread throughout the area. The weak layers are still there (through Saturday for sure) although some of the incidents may also have been new snow instabilities.

It looks like that at Baker there may have been enough rain and warming Sunday to make skier triggering less likely once this recent rained on surface forms a crust. The weak layers will likely remain but be somewhat strengthened most probably beyond reasonable skier triggering (except when warm or if very heavily loaded. But, thus far, anyway, the passes and east slopes appear to be staying cooler and so could also maintain the weaker structure.

It's been an unusual period for us northwesterners.

Anybody else find anything unusual this past few days?