Quick report
- Aspect
- Northeast
- Elevation
- 2469 m
We traveled as high as 8,300' and found a crust on all aspects, with 5-15 cms new snow on top of the crust. Above 7,500', the bond of the new snow to the crust was poor on north and east aspects, with a thin layer of near surface facets (NSF) just above the crust where shovel tilt tests produced an easy, clean shear. The NSF layer above the crust does not look like a big problem, but any wind or storm slab may be sensitive to this weak interface and the crusts will provide an easy bed surface for avalanches to run on.
Photos:
Pic #1 The skies cleared early afternoon providing great views in the alpine.
Pic #2 The south winds began to drift snow as winds increased in the afternoon.
Pic #3 Profile of the top 20 cms of the snow surface showing the weak snow just above the crust.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Just as we've seen in the central Wasatch with several PWL avalanches occurring in steep, thin, rocky terrain occurring over the past 10 days, I'm sure there are similar slopes in the Ogden mountains where an avalanche failing in the PWL could be triggered. With wind and snow on the way this week, the PWL problem will likely increase.</p>
5 cms new at trailheads increasing to 15 cms at 8,300'. We found a few small pockets of wind-drifted snow along ridges that were reactive.