Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Doing some cabin sitting in upper Big Cottonwood Canyon. Yesterday, we skied along the Park City ridgeline to Scott's Peak and were nearly blasted off the ridge at times. But sometimes it's fun to just get out in it and TAKE IT! Most of the ridgeline was completely naked of snow on the windward side. Today, about 10 inches of snow fell with the howling west wind even stronger. The snow was upside down even in wind sheltered areas because of warmer temperatures. The snow started out as even a slight bit of rain here at 9,000' last night be mostly dense snow throughout the day. We learned our lesson yesterday so we did not venture onto the ridges and we stayed in more wind protected trees. Wind slabs were building throughout the day. We stayed in low angled terrain so we did not have the opportunity to jump on test slopes but I'm sure there was widespread wind slabs in downwind terrain in the wind exposed areas. I only dug one quick pit to the ground in a relatively non representative area. The snowpack was a meter deep with the same layers and snow structure mentioned by all the other snow profiles posted. The weather was too miserable so my companions would not tolerate me spending time being a snow nerd so I did not do any tests. The wind continues to howl outside the cabin at 9,000' and we're happy to be inside.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The most obvious and high probability hazard is the wind slabs on the snow surface, which you can find most everywhere. Avoid all avalanche terrain (steeper than 30 degrees) with recent deposits of wind drifted snow, which will look smooth and rounded and often feel punchy and hollow.</p> <p>The well-advertised depth hoar at the base of the snowpack is still there on shaded slopes. It's buried quite deep now so in theory it's gaining strength, but unfortunately balanced by adding a fresh load of weight on top of the pile, which could keep it active. Classic low probability - high consequence situation.</p>
Today's new snow is denser than the snow on the surface before it started snowing in earnest this morning. The new snow is upside down with warmer temperatures, rimed new snow, very wind blown in wind exposed areas. The snow feels slabby and punchy in places and often cracks around our skis.