Steamboat & Flat Tops
SnowpackMax Strotbeck · Mar 10, 2025 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Temperatures started in the low-twenties and rose to above freezing. Winds were from the southwest, and increased in intensity as I climbed, with moderate speeds near the saddle and strong gusts on ridgeline. There were few clouds in the sky and no new snow.
Snowpack
I touched almost all aspects of the compass today, and all surfaces I traveled upon had a crust apart from north and northeast slopes. I saw surface hoar on a north slope that likely formed when it was colder and calm over the weekend and was now decomposing. Although temperatures climbed above freezing today, the wind kept surfaces cool near the saddle and above. I witnessed turbulent suspension of the surface snow on the ridgeline due to strong winds, but there was not much snow being transported. Beneath the snow surface on west through north through east aspects, I found a 27-43cm slab of mostly fist and four-finger hard snow above the late February/early March drought layer. This layer stood out to me most in a snowpit dug on a steep north test slope, where it was comprised of rounding surface hoar grains. However, in an extended column test I did not even see a fracture on this layer. In a snowpit dug on an east aspect, I did see a fracture on this drought layer (which on this aspect was a 2cm melt-freeze crust) in an extended column test, but no propagation.