Powderhouse Observation

After a late start due to digging out and limited plowed options locally, I returned to Powderhouse to see how things changed since yesterday. The snow was still very deep and some folks struggled to standup if they fell, but noticeable settlement had occurred as evidenced by the settlement cones and cracking around trees. The cornices and wind features that were touchy yesterday did not fail at all today. A brisk east wind kept things cold but didn't appear to be stripping much if any snow from the near tree line summit area of Powderhouse. Snow was still sticking to trees near the summit despite the wind and the abundant sunshine. I have been curious about how much snow was lost due to the impressive rain event of last week. The base of Powderhouse is about 7700 feet and I measured snow depth at 113 cms. Close to the 9380 foot summit, I measured 250 cms of snow. The upper 90 cms of snow near the summit appeared to be uncohesive new storm snow with a noticeable crust below that depth. It seems in this area that snow depth increases significantly above about 8000 feet. 

Photo 1: Wind effect along the summit ridge. I kicked on multiple wind features along the summit ridge, including ones very similar to those that were quite reactive yesterday, and got no results. 

Photo 2: Significant settlement could be seen in the numerous and relatively large settlement cones around trees. 

Photo 3: Trees along the summit ridge were covered in fine rime from previous westerly winds. 

Photo 4: Evidence of east wind effect in below treeline terrain near the summit.