Public Observation #2021-527

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

None reported

Observations

Conditions at Santiam pass yesterday were prime for good stable skiing. My partner and I skied the commonly traveled east face of Hayrick Butte. The slope is an average of 35 degrees which increases in angle toward the top of the slope. We traveled cautiously at first being aware of the enormous amount of new snow from the holiday storm. A very deep pit revealed a 200+ cm deep snowpack with the weakest interaction being between the new and old snow about 1.5 feet down which produced low quality sheer at CT11. The bottom of the snowpack from the ground to about 2 feet up appeared to be rounding grains that had been affected by the rain before Christmas. While less solid than the snow above this rain-affected layer was buried at least 5 feet deep by consolidated snow decreasing in density from 1 finger to fist (bottom to top). Temperatures yesterday hovered around freezing and as we skied a slight rain crust was starting to form. I suspect this crust to be minimal today and the skiing at Santiam pass to be very good for the days to come.