Schneedecke

Observation: Alta Ski Area

L. DunnSalt Lake
Auf der Karte ansehen

Quick report

The snow on the vehicle behind me is our snowpack.

Snowpack

About 15 inches of dense new snow on top of another 5-7 inches of snow from a few days ago, so total depth was about 20".  I believe there might be a problem with the water equivalent being reported from Collins today, other snotel sites showed about 1.5" SWE, while Collins shows around 0.70" SWE for a storm total.  This snow had a lot of water in it, the higher numbers seem more accurate.  The new snow was dense and inverted with a rime crust above 9500' that got thicker as we got higher.  Lets see, bad visibility, dense upside down snow, a rime crust, oh yeah, there are still rocks, too.  I felt lucky to descend without getting hurt....but who can resist going skiing in October!