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Thread: Snow in the PNW 2019-20
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02-11-2020, 04:23 PM #1726
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02-11-2020, 05:35 PM #1727
In a nutshell, yes. We do avalanche mitigation to try and ensure the safety of the inbounds riders below, not ensure the safety of the backcountry, out of ski area, skiers above. How those are different is up to your interpretation. The canyon had just opened, and our patrol director was nearby watching the entire area, and two of our pro staff were in perfect position to respond.
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02-11-2020, 06:49 PM #1728
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02-11-2020, 07:09 PM #1729Registered User
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I hope Greenwater gets cleaned up and its fridges powered. Trying to live daily life in wet mess with out regular amenities can be rough and not quite the carefree campfire lock in from your youth. I grew up dealing with aftermaths from hurricanes, and it wasnt quite as fun for my parents as it was for me.
Anyway, I'll be raising the umbrella on Thursday. I've been finishing my restoration on the on3p jmos I picked up. Its interesting skiing a R/C/R ski compared to the directional one I'm used to. I was worried about the tail rocker, but I actually like how the tail cuts out.
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02-12-2020, 11:27 AM #1730
I love Baker and I ski it all the time with my friends in Bham, but it does have a track record of being sketchy...
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02-12-2020, 12:29 PM #1731Banned
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Every once in awhile it's good to be a local who isn't employed by the mtn
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02-12-2020, 10:05 PM #1732
Super green day on the nwac forecast, reports of solid conditions, then this...
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8fZ_Fln...d=s4d1ge9zbry1
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02-12-2020, 10:53 PM #1733
Yeah, that was a serious wtf. Also what's up with the lack of forecast for the east side of the south cascades?
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02-12-2020, 11:23 PM #1734Registered User
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When you drop a large cornice all bets are off and I doubt there's all that much correlation between avi conditions and cornice stability. Similar event triggered the 30'?! deep slide on Ruby Mtn a couple years back.
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02-12-2020, 11:47 PM #1735
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02-13-2020, 08:31 AM #1736Registered User
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Interesting phenomenon. That area had seen quite a bit of skier compaction this winter as its a really popular slackcountry spot, right? Yet, none of those skiers had triggered the slide on that early season layer, even when the pack was much shallower and wouldnt have supported their weight as much. Not to mention, how did the literal feet of rain that fell on that snow not destroy/crush/melt/bond that surface layer it slid on? Snow is weird. It'll be interesting to see the NWAC report when it comes out.
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02-13-2020, 09:50 AM #1737
Here's the telementry for White Pass last Friday night/Saturday am, when they got their last significant snowfall:
100 mph gusts and 50+ mph sustained winds, combined with heavy precip with below 32 F temps. The slope that slid is the wind loaded side of the crest. All this occurred after the last major rain event there and I believe it has not rained there since last Friday afternoon (you can see the 33 F in the telementry for when the rain switched to snow there). Seems like a perfect recipe for a slab to form and sit multiple days before releasing on the last rain crust.
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02-13-2020, 10:35 AM #1738Registered User
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Not trying to argue, just trying to understand.
The quick writeup on NWAC makes it seem like the slide ripped all the way to the ground, not on a recent raincrust. I wouldnt questions a recent slab forming and sliding, but it seems crazy to think that after all the rain events and heavy loading of the winter, the entire snowpack would release to the ground where apparently no real bond had formed.
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02-13-2020, 11:13 AM #1739
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02-13-2020, 11:36 AM #1740Registered User
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02-13-2020, 11:45 AM #1741Registered User
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The groomers are fast and chalky with some soft spots. The only off piste I've tried was super icey, and I've only heard reports of the same. Maybe it will soften up but it is still mainly cloudy and will get only more so.
The mountain seems filled with those of a greyier and older variety. I guess that's the norm midweek.
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02-13-2020, 12:06 PM #1742
NWAC's take
"The ski patrol at Crystal Mountain on Sunday and Monday produced consistent deep wet slab releases with large explosive charges releasing to deep layers from early this winter. These avalanches were generally on N to E slopes at about 6-7000 feet with crowns of 4 to 6 feet and up to 10 feet in spots with the High Campbell chair and some trees destroyed. See photos at the Crystal Mountain web site. They also reported similar natural releases were seen in the adjacent Mt Rainier National Park.
On Tuesday 11 March, NWAC observer Dallas Glass also found recent very large wet slab releases on Kendall Peak at Snoqualmie Pass. Several wet slab avalanches began at about the 5500 ft elevation on primarily W aspects on slopes of about 35-40 degrees. They were classified as D 2.5, R 2/3 natural wet slabs and ran about 1000 feet. These slides likely released Saturday when the area received over 3 inches of rain to elevations above 5500 feet. A video of the slide area and debris fields can be seen here NWAC channel.
While it is unlikely these deep wet slab avalanches could be human triggered, it remains a possibility, especially if initiated by a thin spot in the slab such as near rocks or trees. As liquid water has now penetrated to deep in the snowpack in places that have received significant recent rain these concerns should remain into the spring, especially during times of rain or extended warm periods. It may also be possible to initiate a wet slab release via a loose wet avalanche triggering a deeper layer. As a result of this recent activity, wet slab avalanches will now be listed as a concern near and west of the crest."
https://www.nwac.us/avalanche-foreca...e-pass/#photos
And this is the Forecast for the time of the accident.
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02-13-2020, 02:27 PM #1743Registered User
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- Oct 2003
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I triggered a ~15' foot crown with explosives that looked similar to that. Heavy wind loading, impressive looking crown but tapered fast and not that much debris. Was not really representative of the wider snowpack profile.
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02-14-2020, 08:22 PM #1744
Sidenote, and perhaps a longshot - my wife left her beloved Oyuki mittens on the top of the car pulling out of Lot 4 on Sunday. Obviously they didn't make it back down to Seattle. She called Lost & Found, but no dice so far.
Any chance someone spotted and grabbed those? She was parked at the back of Lot 4. Black and grey Oyuki mittens, look like these: https://usa.oyuki.com/shop/hand-wear/tamashii-gtx-mitt
Longshot, but if someone happened to pick them up, would make her day.
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02-14-2020, 09:45 PM #1745wickstad
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02-16-2020, 03:11 PM #1746Banned
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After light snowfall this morning and a nice break in the weather around lunch time, it would appear that Old Man Winter has flipped the switch for the Sunday night sesh.
Free refills anyone?
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02-17-2020, 09:39 AM #1747
The 4 one 0 is washed out, blocking access to of our favorite zones, so we went to the high 12. Not sure why the snow report said 3", it was more like 12". Stood in some long lines and pondered why snowboarders lack the ability to count to 4. Bailed and went for a long walk. Lapped bottomless in the lower trees that always seem to deliver. Generally stable, but a little more reactive in late afternoon after the wind and snow picked up. Some sluffiness was managed.
Picking up a pair of protests for the wife might have been one of my better life choices. Fits her skiing style wonderfully.
Breaking trail was a rather unpleasant suffer fest at times.
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02-17-2020, 07:16 PM #1748wickstad
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Sneaker pow day at Mission. My personal favorite.
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02-17-2020, 09:10 PM #1749
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02-18-2020, 06:18 AM #1750Banned
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It was a little crowded, but the last two days at Alpental were stellar. No complaints. Deep and spongy on a soft base.
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