Safe tour this weekend?

Robie you made a smart bet leaving Crystal when you did. I made a early start but that didn't matter because everyone was going 20 mph on 410. I was two seconds from having a tree fall on my car and got rear ended by some lady. I was geared up and ready to go by 10:00 but left before noon because nobody likes skiing in the rain.

Also bombing up at Crystal stops at 3 way peak

I was at Crystal today as well. Got there real early and avoided the chaos on the way in. Left at 11.30 like you Kyle as raining at base of Rex.



Just some comments, Alta Vista at Paradise can be a pretty deadly slope so I would not include that in an avy safe tour category. To ski that just now would require some real careful evaluation.

I was one of the first down Sunnyside under the REX chair and it was slabby and cracks where propagating about 10 ft at each turn,only 6" slabs but disconcerting at first until you got used to it and it got tracked out and that's inbounds.

Big Hurt Bob.
Today was like the day last year when we lost the snowboarders, heavy snow followed by a sharp rise in temperatures. I am sorry but I agree with prestonf that if you are asking this question then you are not experienced enough to venture out in the BC in conditions such as this. I know that's harsh but so be it. We don't want you Big Dead Bob!!!!

Re the safety of Alta vista. Your right of course Alta vista east facing can be deadly. I was thinking of a Southeasterly ski down the ridge. from far short of the top. Scottie and G Vogt yours is the best advice.
Re smart bet From Kyle -I'd already had my thule box smashed by a limb pushed a few trees so we was getting strong warning signals.We turned around at Crystal blvd and 410 at 845am.

edith basin has lot of traps.. snow shoe guy died there last year right?

pretty unstable in many areas including trees @ white today.

Edith basin has safe choices as well in general but in these conditions best to stay home. Looks we won't even have a choice as all 3 passes are closed till further notice.

I hope Larry does not mind me pasting this from the snow exchange but it's worth reading!


Larry Goldie North Cascades WA Skiing 2009-12-30 Washington Pass
There is currently a set of circumstances in the backcountry that we want to make sure folks are well aware of. The issue is this: The level of Avalanche danger in the North Cascades right now is perfectly set to kill...being high, (not Extreme) the snow pack is releasing natural slides at an inconsistent rate...we are not seeing a wide spread natural cycle. This being the case, human caused slides are catching recreationalists off guard both in the ease of triggering and in the size and severity of the slides. Suffice to say that this is a snowpack that has not existed here in at least the last couple of decades. Slides are releasing on a weak layer at or near the ground (the entire snowpack is releasing, full depth!) This is a wide spread weakness that becomes very dangerous above 4,000 to 5,000 feet of elevation on all aspects and especially on lee slopes where wind loading has occurred. This in combination of lack of snow at some of our traditionally safe touring areas is pushing people into terrain that is not manageable given the conditions. In the Methow Valley alone there were four reported near misses between Sunday and Monday. (not counting the one fatality!) In these instances people were caught, carried, and/or injured by avalanches...some of these people were highly educated in snow science and were using protocols usually known to be safe. These were large avalanches that released to the ground with very wide propagation. We recommend that people stay clear of avalanche terrain (on or above you) or avoid the backcountry all together until a significant warm up and/or rain event occurs to sufficiently stabilize the snowpack.