Bill Hunt

Ogden » Snowbasin Backcountry

Snowbasin backcountry

While turning through some steep trees around noon, 8800' N, 36-40 degrees, it was helpful to pause occasionally and let the sluff pass. About 7-12", with very little wind for a change. No cracking; didn't spend much time above 9000' though. A bit lower, ~8000', I did a longish 300' cut across a northfacing little bowl in the 40 degree range, that funnelled a bit into a chute; with the crust quite evident underneath; more like 6-7" there. I was surprised at the movement, for relatively little snow. Surface sluffing below my board, across the entire cut. This ran about 300 feet, and with the funnelling effect, resulted in ~3 feet of deposition at the toe (photo). Avoiding the hardened wet slide debris in the runout was another concern. All in all pretty good conditions for the end of March. 4-5" on the moose (6391') is always a good sign :-)

Moderate

Moderate