Observation: Dry Fork 12/26/2011

Observer Name:

Hardesty

Region:

Salt Lake
American Fork
Dry Fork

Observation Date:

12/26/2011

Snow Characteristics

Snow Surface Conditions:

Faceted Loose

Wind Crust

Melt-Freeze Crust

Snow Characteristic Comments:

Checkerboard of wind board, sun crust, and bottomless faceted snow.

Red Flags

Cracking

Collapsing

Red Flag Comments:

Collapsed numerous wind pillows and wind lenses on northeast>southeast facing slopes. The soft and hard slabs all cracked out above me and were 2-5" deep, some 50' wide. None ran as I was on slopes < 30 degrees.

Primary Concern

Primary Concern:

Wind Slabs

Probability:

Moderate

Aspect:

North

Northeast

East

Southeast

Elevation:

High

Mid

Trend:

Same

Primary Concern Comments:

These were well off the ridgelines in lee encatchment zones (gullies, scoops, rollovers) - but pockety. Easy to pick out, they were smooth and rounded. Hard slabs you stay on top, soft slabs you sink in. Both were reactive to my traversing across the terrain, collapsing and cracking out above. Facets and surface hoar were the players.

snow_profile_location:

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 1)

Video 1:

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 2)

Note how different the patch of snow looks. The ruffled looking snow was soft recrystallized powder. The smooth wind slab was lens shaped. Moving from right to left, I was only able to collapse the wind drift when I was on the thinner tapered edge.

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 3)

Culprit, below - thin surface hoar and weak faceted snow - easily collapsed by my weight over the hard and soft wind slabs.

Video 3:

Observed Danger Rating:

Moderate

Forecast Danger Rating:

Moderate