Observation: Red Pine Gulch 1/26/2012

Observer Name:

Glew

Region:

Salt Lake
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Red Pine Gulch

Observation Date:

01/26/2012

Location or Route:

Red Pine

Weather

Sky:

Overcast

Precipitation:

Moderate Snowfall

Wind Direction:

Southwest

Wind Speed:

Moderate

Weather Comments:

Started snowing around noon today. It kept snowing pretty conisistently for the rest of the day and we received a few inches in the area of travel.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth:

New Snow Density:

Medium

Snow Surface Conditions:

Powder

Melt-Freeze Crust

Rain-Rime Crust

Damp

Snow Characteristic Comments:

A we asecended from the white pine parking lot we found snow conditions improving for riding and sliding as we gained elevation. The northerly slopes had nice supportable powder skiing conditions. Slopes that had been sun blasted yesterday had a thin melt freeze crust on them. We skied NE facing tress in Red Pine from about 10,000 feet and below. The snow was supportable and the turns were great.

Red Flags

Wind Loading

Red Flag Comments:

In the past few days I have experienced less cracking and collapsing. Today I experienced none due to the warming and time our snowpack has had to adjust to recent changes. I would however expect more unstable conditions with the added water weight we are receiving right now.

Primary Concern

Primary Concern:

Deep Slabs

Probability:

Considerable

Aspect:

North

Northeast

East

West

Northwest

Elevation:

High

Mid

Trend:

More Dangerous

Primary Concern Comments:

If we get a decent blast of snow and wind tonight I think the snowpack might become more sensitive.

snow_profile_location:

Observed Danger Rating:

Considerable

Forecast Danger Rating:

Considerable