Observation: Mirror Lake Highway

Observation Date
12/11/2015
Observer Name
jg
Region
Uintas » Mirror Lake Highway
Location Name or Route
Mirror Lake Highway/Mt. Watson
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
North
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Broken to overcast skies. Light to moderate snowfall during the day. Very calm with hardly a breath of wind. Temps in the mid to upper teens at 10K. Mostly cloudy and snowing most of the day up high. Lower elevations seemed to have been warmer with less cloud cover during the day.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

6"-8" of right side up, snow overnight. Snowfall rates heavy for a short period of time last night. 1"-3" new snow during the day today, elevation dependent with higher elevations receiving more.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Normal Caution
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments

The storm snow seems to have fallen pretty quietly with not much wind, adding about a 1/2" of water to the snowpack. The pre-storm winds added more weight to the pack via wind transport than this storm did in my opinion, so I didn't feel like there was much of a difference in overall stability compared to the last few days.

Snow Profile
Aspect
East
Elevation
10,800'
Slope Angle
Unknown
Comments

No results on ECT. CT tests reflected the faceted snow underneath the wind affected snow from this week as the weakest interface. Shears were Q3 quality with moderate force required to initiate.

A good part of the day was like this.

The new snow did wonders for the the conditions but it's still low tide in the Uintas with a lot of obstacles just barely covered by the new snow. Wind will be the factor to watch before the next forecasted storm. Low to moderate danger depending on elevation and aspect.

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