Observation: Salt Lake

Observation Date
2/22/2013
Observer Name
Kikkert
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Mt Raymond
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Snowfall for most the morning, until near noon, light at times, more moderate at others...maybe an inch or so of accumulation. Winds were mostly light, but there were a few brief periods with a gust or two in the twenties. Not much snow moving around with these gusts, but increasing winds tonight will find plenty to transport.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

About 5-6" of very light density snow, skied great on sheltered northerly facing slopes, bottom feeding elsewhere.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
I think the observations from Greg Gagne and Mark White cover the potential for wind slabs to slide on the weak layer/bed combo of the light density snow on top of various crusts. I poked a bit more on the E and SE aspects, which I found to be weaker than I thought they would be (havn't skied much lately...). Basic structure was the 5-6" of low density on top of sun crusts of varying thickness depending upon how much southerly exposure they had. Underneath the crust was 1-2 inches of very weak, well developed, 2mm facets. Not much of a slab on top today, but that is about to change. I think this structure is a bit poorer than some of the north faces, which have abundant weak snow, but I think the crusts on E and SE may allow the slab to build a bit more and propagate a bit better (thicker crusts on S facing may bridge this weakness better than the thinner crusts on E and SE). Depending on snow amounts, may only get enough weight to create problems in the wind affected areas (which could load quickly during the first part of the storm tomorrow). Short story, agree that today was low-moderate...tomorrow probably considerable-high and would not go back to anything we skied today.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Southeast
Elevation
9,600'
Coordinates