Becker Ridge observations

I went for a mellow ski tour today on the Becker Ridge. Evidence of rain/snow precipitation mix from the Nov 13 storm event existed up to about 7,500'. At the Echo Lake Snopark at 7,360' there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground. Above 7,500' the snowpack depth increased to 12 inches, in agreement with the the Echo Peak Snotel station reporting. I dug two snowpits on either side of the ridge on S aspect and N aspect terrain. Both were dug in below treeline open areas. The S aspect site was well shaded by tall trees and seasonally low sun angles.

A similar snowpack structure was observed in both snowpits. Weaker, but still poorly developed faceted snow made up the lower 2/3rds of the shallow snowpack. This is the old snow on the ground from the Nov 7 storm event. The recent new snow from the Nov 13 storm event was much denser and provided ski supportable conditions. A distince slab over weaker old snow structure was widespread in this area. No signs of weak layer propagation or problematic instability were observed in formal snowpit tests. Only very minor and limited localized snow surface cracking was noted while traveling on skis. Some tiny shallow wind slabs were observed in open ridgetop areas.

Numerous rocks and logs still mostly inhibit downhill skiing in this area but mellow touring was a go today.