Obs-Snow Profile: Skyline 3/3/2011

Observer Name: 
Kobernik
Region: 
Skyline
Observation Date: 
03/03/2011
Weather
Sky: 
Overcast
Precipitation: 
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction: 
West
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Weather Comments: 

Periods of snow on and off all day.  Winds seemed to increase later in the day.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth: 
6"
New Snow Density: 
Low
Snow Surface Conditions: 
Powder
Snow Characteristic Comments: 

8 to 10 inches of snow fell early Thursday March 3rd into the afternoon.  By the end of the day it was settled to about a 6 to 8 inch depth.  Very nice riding conditions with soft snow underneath the new snow.

Red Flags

Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Red Flag Comments: 

A fairly rapid load of new snow coupled with some wind makes me a bit nervous about the deeper persistent weak layers.

Primary Concern

Primary Concern: 
Deep Slabs
Probability: 
Considerable
Aspect: 
North
Northeast
East
Elevation: 
High
Mid
Trend: 
More Dangerous
Primary Concern Comments: 

The new snow itself seemed stable.  I imagine that there were some fresh drifts along the ridges but weather kept me from traveling into the upper bowls.

Elevation: 
9100'
Aspect: 
Northeast
skyline3-3-2011.jpg
snow_profile_location: 
United States
39° 34' 36.8868" N, 111° 15' 43.4304" W
Comments - Photos - Videos (group 1)

I traveled around the lower ends of Lake, Rolfson, Staker and Miller Flat Reservoir.  White out conditions prevented me from getting into the upper portions of the drainages.  I quickly found weak snow near the rain crust which is buried around 85cm deep.  In areas that had a total depth of around 180cm the weakness was more pronounced then in areas that are deeper.  The weakness is stubborn but no doubt present.  A significant new snow load with wind transporting it along with a trigger such as a sledder could trigger deep and dangerous avalanches on the more northerly facing slopes.

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Comments - Photos - Videos (group 2)

The photo shows the weak grains present at the failure under the rain crust.  Mostly faceted grains but surface hoar still present as seen right in the middle of the photo.

IMG_1428.jpg
Observed Danger Rating: 
Considerable
Forecast Danger Rating: 
Considerable
Snow Profile Location
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