Observation: Brighton Perimeter 12/5/2011

Observer Name:

Hardesty

Region:

Salt Lake
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Brighton Perimeter

Observation Date:

12/05/2011

Weather

Sky:

Few

Precipitation:

Light Snowfall

Wind Speed:

Calm

Weather Comments:

Just a few light flurries. Picked up Cowboy (Kobernik) hitch-hiking. We laughed (so we didn't have to cry) that the new low density snow falling was a sitting duck. It'll have no chance. (It's almost as if it was faceting as it fell...)

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth:

New Snow Density:

Low

Snow Surface Conditions:

Powder

Snow Characteristic Comments:

Primarily 2-3" of cold smoke on a variety of pre-existing snow surfaces. Of note - high lee (in this case - westerly facing from the Dec 1 winds) had a skiff on top of nearly un-edge-able hard wind slab.

Red Flags

Red Flag Comments:

Some of the older wind drifts crack out, but that's about it. It's worth a discussion. How we have a stable snowpack, but plenty of weak snow. We just don't have a new load on top of the weak layers. The old slab seems to have 'relaxed' over the past week or so. So it's all about the relationships to one another. The layering is the key - weak over strong? "Ski it if it's white" Strong over weak? A different matter altogether. Of course it's a bit more complicated than this, however I'm imagining the slab to deteriorate a bit from the top down and the bottom up.

snow_profile_location:

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 1)

Extended column tests revealed no failure and no propagation. I pried out the weakness with my shovel on the back of the column. Not a good set up and am expecting the snowpack to get weaker and more unconsolidated. We will have significant avalanche problems once it begins to snow.

Video 1:

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 2)

Photos below of the faceted snow and last night's surface hoar development.

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 3)

Observed Danger Rating:

Low

Forecast Danger Rating:

Low