24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 21" Depth at Gold Basin: 17"
Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: 15 NNW Temp: 7° F
Weather
Under clear skies, it is a chilly 7°F this morning in Gold Basin. High temperatures will reach 20°F with sunny skies and very light winds out of the northwest. A prolonged series of moisture will bring accumulating snow to the mountains of northern Utah and Colorado through Sunday. Unfortunately, it looks like southeast Utah will be left out of the action this time. I don't see anything particularly promising in our near future. However, northwest flow with plenty of available moisture will continue into next week. Confidence is low, but it is possible some of these shortwaves could drop further south into our zone. Stay tuned.
General Conditions
Travel was somewhat difficult while cruising around the Laurel Highway and Gold Basin on Tuesday. I found deep trail breaking off the beaten path that made for slow going. The average height of snow above 10,000' is 18-24". The snowpack is weak and faceted, allowing skis to punch deep when skiing downhill and attempting to make turns. Rocks and logs are a real hazard right now, and the punchy snow doesn't help. The good news is that soft powder exists on all aspects, so if you can find a grassy slope, you might be able to make some turns.
Old, pre-existing faceted snow was buried by 9 inches of storm snow on Sunday, laying an evenly distributed soft slab on top of a persistent weak layer. We observed numerous small avalanches on Monday, and test results continued to be sensitive on Tuesday. Avalanche danger is most prevalent on northerly aspects where the snowpack is deeper and more well-connected. The weak layer is sensitive, and above treeline slopes that have seen just a touch of wind-drifted snow are especially suspect.
Poor snowpack structure also exists on slopes that face west and southwest. Many slopes near or above treeline with a west or southwest aspect were subject to strong sun and/or strong winds and do not have much of a snowpack at all. The PWL problem does not exist on these slopes. However, if you find yourself on southwest or west-facing slopes, and the snowpack is deep, dig down and look for the weak layer; it is easy to find.
Click here to check out all recent obs, including my fieldwork from Tuesday.
Check out the video below from our fieldwork on Monday
