Quick report
- Red Flags
- Cracking, Collapsing, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
Started my tour to Porter Fork pass around 0900 under clear, cold, windless skies with a notable temperature inversion. North and shaded aspects stayed cold throughout the day while south aspects saw a significant warm up from 1200-1400. Around 1200, scattered cloud began to roll in and a light breeze began on ridgelines.
MCC received about half of what BCC did out of this last storm for a total snowdepth averaging 120cm in upper Porter Fork. Widespread collapsing and cracking was noted in areas not previously traveled (collapsing up to 50ft away). No notable avalanche activity and it seems like the sluffing we were seeing yesterday has decreased significantly. Rapid warming was experienced on south facing slopes mid-day. Poor snow structure is present on East-South-West facing slopes.
Over the past two weeks, we have gone from being able to safely ride almost anything with enough snow to dangerous avalanche conditions with few obvious warning signs. It is important to travel with restraint in areas like Porter Fork with a PWL and treat any E-S-W facing slope greater than 30° as highly suspect.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The layer of facets that developed prior to Thanksgiving make up a good portion of the snowpack in the Central Wasatch. While there has been some activity with this layer, it seems that we haven't reached the tipping point yet but are moving closer with each storm. The poor snowpack structure, results from pits, and widespread collapsing and cracking indicate the PWL can be triggered by skiers/hikers/snowmobilers. </p>