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Observation: Guardsman Pass area

Observation Date
3/1/2015
Observer Name
Kobernik
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Guardsman Pass area
Location Name or Route
Guardsman's to Snake Creek and back
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
South
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Occasional light snow late in the day with moderate speed southerly winds noted along the higher ridges only
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

Total snow depth since Thursday was around a foot of new snow. Some northerly aspects deeper, some southerly aspects a bit shallower. Powder was the predominant snow condition although some areas became damp which were either facing the sun or were at lower elevations.

Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments

I went out after my forecast shift to ride snowmachines with some friends. My main objective was to look for recent wind slabs and see how widespread and sensitive they were. I covered lots of terrain from Guardsmans to Snake Creek and saw nothing very noteworthy. Many of the big slopes had been skied, snowboarded or climbed by snowmobilers without incident. I purposely started to ride into areas where I thought there might be a fresh wind slab to see if it would crack or release. I didn't find anything significant. I was able to get a very minor pocket to release which was no consequence to someone on a snow machine and would've been a minor consequence to skiers or snowboarders. Overall, I found fewer fresh wind slabs than anticipated. We were basically able to travel anywhere we wished without much concern of getting caught in an avalanche.

Comments

Photo: very minor release on a northeast facing slope at 9500'

Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low