Observation: White Pine

Observation Date
11/25/2018
Observer Name
Bruce Tremper
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » White Pine
Location Name or Route
White Pine to lake
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
15"
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments
The White Pine road is still pretty rocky and I would not recommend it unless you have rock skis or are on snowshoes. But I'm a slow learner so...we walked up to just below White Pine Lake. Skiing even in the higher, north facing slopes is still pretty shallow. I hit an invisible rock, which stopped my ski dead and I performed the most spectacular swan dive face plant I've done in many years. Hmm, I thought, I need to find my helmet--I think it's in the garage somewhere. The snow is rather dense because of all the graupel during the storm on Saturday.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Red Flags Comments
Widespread areas of big, booming collapses wherever you travel on the shady aspects and flat slopes. Very fragile depth hoar near the ground.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Obviously, the persistent slabs are the main problem. I was encouraged to see that nearly all the upper elevation, steep slopes that face north through east had already slid during the storm, presumably during the high precipitation intensity periods on Friday night or Saturday. I gave unslid shady slopes a wide berth. We stayed on the flats. A couple quick pits showed easy collapses on the depth hoar near the ground. Total snow depth above 9,500' on shady slopes is about 2 feet deep. Slab avalanches visible were mostly 1 1/2 feet deep and of varying widths, sometimes taking out whole basins beneath cliffs and the widest fracture I saw was in Dog Dish and on Lake Peak and they were several hundred feet wide. Some high peaks such as Red Baldy had been stripped of snow by the wind previous to the storm so I did not see any avalanches there.
Comments
Here's 3 photos that show the widespread fracture lines on nearly all the steep terrain above 9,500' that face north through east. They presumably slid during the storm on Friday night or Saturday. I did not notice any avalanches on any other aspects.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable