Divide Cirque

Today we went up Divide Peak.  It was much warmer up at the trailhead than in town, with a temp of 17 degrees at about 10:30 am. Went up to Divide Basin and then to the bottom of that southerly-facing slope that you ascend on your way to the top.  It was a bit windy and some snow was moving, but not a lot.  There were small plumes off some of the higher peaks, but I’m guessing a lot of the snow had already been transported by earlier stronger winds.

About 3/4ths of the way up to the ridge we dug a quick pit.  This was in a wind protected area with soft surface snow and no obvious prior wind loading.  By this time it had gotten considerably colder and so we did not spend much time there.  Total snow depth was about 115 cm, and the faceted layer went from 50 cm to the ground. ECTP23, and broke clean and smooth.  There were also a couple of ECTNs in the upper snowpack above the ECTP.