Observation: Catherines 3/9/2010

Observer Name:

Dan Griffith

Region:

Salt Lake
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Catherines

Observation Date:

03/09/2010

Location or Route:

Sunset Peak/Rocky Point Area to Tumbleweed to Dog Lake Bowl

Weather

Sky:

Overcast

Precipitation:

Light Snowfall

Wind Direction:

Southwest

Wind Speed:

Light

Weather Comments:

Today's weather was a mix of just about everything, except for rain. The morning started off with snowy skies, followed by warming temps and sunny skies. By late afternoon the winds picked up a bit, then it started to snow fairly hard with whiteout conditions and some pretty dense fog.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth:

New Snow Density:

Medium

Snow Surface Conditions:

Powder

Dense Loose

Wind Crust

Melt-Freeze Crust

Snow Characteristic Comments:

Today you could find almost all snow surfaces as well. There was everything from light to dense powder, to wind and frozen sun crusts, to the horrendous elephant snot. Surprisingly we had some wonderful powder runs on direct N 7 some upper elevation NW facing aspects.

Red Flags

Wind Loading

Rapid Warming

Red Flag Comments:

Today's main concern was the sloughing in the top 7-8" of light density powder that was on top of a heavier density snow surface. Sloughs were running far and piling up, so you had to pay attention to where you would end up if the slough started picking up speed.

Primary Concern

Primary Concern:

Persistent Slabs

Aspect:

North

Northwest

Elevation:

High

Mid

Trend:

Same

Primary Concern Comments:

The main concern today was triggering the buried surface hoar, which is about 2-2.5' down in our snow pack. The chances of doing so are slowly diminishing, but I think that in the upper alpine rocky areas, this is still a pretty good probability.

Secondary Concern

Secondary Concern:

Loose Snow/Sluffing

Aspect:

North

Northeast

West

Northwest

Elevation:

High

Mid

Trend:

More Dangerous

Secondary Concern Comments:

The second concern is the sloughing in the new snow that has fallen recently, especially in areas that have been wind loaded and are starting to pile up those new snow amounts. Also, soft slabs just below ridge lines and part way down the upper elevation slopes are developing pillows and newly formed drifts, which are becoming easily triggered. Ski cuts and cornice drops have been very effective in popping these out.

snow_profile_location:

Comments - Photos - Videos (group 1)

Today was a moderate danger in all the areas we visited, but there were some areas in the upper elevations that have been wind affected that are leaning more on the considerable side of things. It will be interesting to see how much new snow does fall tonight and tomorrow, as this will play a key role in determining how quickly the danger rises. If we get more snow and/or wind overnight, then I think the danger will jump up to considerable with lower elevations staying more on the moderate side of things.

Observed Danger Rating:

Moderate

Forecast Danger Rating:

Considerable