Observation: Silver/Days

Observation Date
3/27/2014
Observer Name
mark white, kobernik, kendall
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver/Days
Location Name or Route
Silver,Days
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Snow showers throughout the day, not adding up to a whole lot, mabye two inches during the day. Some stronger instability showers in the afternoon pelting down graupel for a short period. Wind for the most part was well behaved but some wind transport occured during the day, from stronger winds during instability showers.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
10"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

About a total of 10 inches of new light density snow, resting in a variety of bed surfaces from firm crust on S,E,and W soft base on NE,NW, and N.

Comments

Skied a variety of aspects today S,N NE, NW, and E, only instabilities we were finding was a density inversion between yesterdays 4 inches and the 6 from last night and this morning.You could get some soft slabs to crack out in steeper terrain but I would put it in the very manageable category. The softs slabs were not running very fast and not leaving very large debris piles. You could pretty much tell which slopes would crack out and which wouldn't' by looking at the slope angle and wind loading on said slope. sluffs were also running in the steeper terrain but just like the soft slabs they were very manageable Photos.

Shooting cracks in the new snow in steeper terrain.

Flank of a soft slab that pulled out in Jaws.

Sluffing on the Silver Fork headwall.

Wind speeds tonight will probably be the wild card for stability tomorrow, would think the density inversion would settle out quickly.

Video: Kobernik

Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate