Planned Website Outage: The UAC website will be down for maintenance on June 17 from 2:00 - 7:00 PM MT.
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Patsy Marly

Observation Date
1/12/2018
Observer Name
Sean Burkhart
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Grizzly Gulch » Patsy Marly
Location Name or Route
Patsey Marley
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Obscured sky all morning with light to moderate snowfall made for some low visibility. Winds were back and forth between light and moderate and was moving snow.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
4"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments
4 inches of snow on top of the snow from the previous storm made for some good riding this morning. Snow certainly not classic Utah blower but much lighter then the snow we received between Monday and Wednesday. Significant wind loading on N to E facing terrain making for some dangerous conditions on slopes above 30 degrees and cornices growing a bit larger. Noticed some 2 to 3 foot cornices growing off the NE ridge of Patsey Marley. Noticed small cracks on slightly steeper slopes that had been wind loaded and cornices were cracking but didn't seem to have enough mass to disrupt the snowpack.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Significant wind loading making for some dangerous conditions. Travel on and below terrain much above 30 degrees not recommended. Although there was no major concerns where we traveled and rode, aspects with steeper terrain could have made for a bad day. Careful route planning can make for a great day riding none the less. Sorry about the lack of pitcures. Lack of visibility and flat light made for some useless photos
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
SW winds moving snow rapidly. Look for signs of "fat pockets" of snow and cornices depicting previous wind directions.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
Unfortunately this problem is going to be around for a while in areas sheltered from the sun.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
High
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
High