Quick report
- Aspect
- Southeast
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading
- Elevation
- 2987 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Lots of snow and wind over the last 24 hours. We saw signs of recent avalanche activity from the control work that UDOT did above Highway 210. Longest running avalanche we observed during our tour was on southwest facing Toledo Bowl. We also observed cut banks that had avalanche crowns above the highway west of the Grizzly parking lot (bottom photo).</p>
In this location the only failure was 3" above the old melt-freeze crust. 100' higher in elevation closer to the ridge in an area that was more wind-affected it was easier to tease out the instabilities within the new snow where the hand hardness changes from fist to four-finger in this photo. I did not check for propagation in this location.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Lots of snow available for transport with forecasted wind. We observed active loading throughout the tour on leeward aspects and at ridgetops. </p> <p> </p> <p>New snow instabilities were 1' and 2' down with extended column tests with no propagation 1' down and extended column test with propagation 2' down. These instabilities should settle out. These tests were performed out of the wind zone on a more easterly aspect @9600' in an area that was not wind-loaded. </p>
Good skiing with some wind-affected snow closer to the ridgelines. We didn't observe any cracking or collapsing although you could feel a spongy layer at the new/old interface above the crust.