Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Smith-Moorehouse

Observation Date
2/17/2013
Observer Name
Jared Hargrave
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Smith and Morehouse
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Wind picked up around noon and got overcast very fast. Light to moderate snowfall until after 2pm, then cleared up with broken clouds and more sunshine in the afternoon.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Skinning was... challenging to say the least on north and east-facing slopes. On one hand you had a thin crust, sometimes supportable, mostly not. Getting onto more northerly aspects meant wallowing in 4 feet o' faceted snow that was about as dense as the top layer of a bubble bath. Sank to the ground on numerous occasions. Then again, those deep facets made for the only good turns of the day. Easterly slopes had bare patches of ground showing.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
No instabilities caught our eyes aside from those deep facets, but there was nothing on top of them (yet) to worry about.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #1 Comments
Some wind slabs on the upper faces of north-facing slopes. Very weak.