Observation Date
2/13/2016
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Whitney Basin
Location Name or Route
Whitney Basin
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Mostly cloudy this morning with clearing skies in the afternoon. The moderate west winds were mainly along the higher ridgelines with calm conditions down in the drainage bottoms.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
It is getting harder to find the last remnants of settled powder with many areas having lots of tracks. If you look around enough the riding and turning is still decent on the north side of the compass. The south facing slopes are taking a hit with the warm temperatures.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
Today did not seem as warm as earlier in the week and I did not observe any wet activity, but I spent most of the day on the shady north facing slopes. The winds were on the increase today from a westerly direction and it is amazing how the winds can still find some loose snow to move around. The wind drifts were fairly minor and manageable early this afternoon, but the winds continued to blow pretty steady and by days end I would suspect some of the wind drifts have gotten bigger and more sensitive.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Not a lot of snow to blow around, but with the steady winds along the high ridgelines there could be some sensitive drifts that a person could trigger on north through southeast facing slopes.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
Continued caution for the deep slab problem in the shallow snow pack areas.
Comments
Riders are hitting the steeper terrain pretty hard and no signs of recent avalanches.
The west winds were on the increase today and they were finding just enough loose snow to move around and develop some small wind drifts along the high ridge lines.
We could sure use a good storm to freshen things up and help the lower elevations that have been taking a hit with the warm weather.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
