Observation: Red Pine Gulch

Observation Date
12/18/2018
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Red Pine
Location Name or Route
Red Pine Gulch
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Sunny and warm in the AM, increasing clouds and wind in the afternoon
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
1"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Quite a mixed bag out there today as expected, windboard, windbuff and windcrust in the exposed alpine, settled faceted powder in wind protected mid elevation trees, damp or melt-freeze crust on lower elevation off aspects. Looked like a skiff of graupel from last nights disturbance. Not quite as hideous as what Weston was seeing on the PC Ridgeline yesterday, apparently, skiable.
Comments
Went up Red Pine to see how the coverage was and to hopefully find something smooth to ski. The base isn’t bad in the alpine but coverage is lacking on the big lines, but decent for this time of year. The surface in the alpine is just starting to facet, there’s a thin layer of facets with a mostly stout windboard underlying it which might cause any new snow to not bond well on steeper slopes. We did not experience wide areas of breakable wind crust but there was enough to keep you on your toes. No wet activity was noted due to the clouds obscuring the sun around 1pm.
photos: skiable windboard, and some not so skiable windslab, and wind erosion
Thinking mostly low with some outlying moderate in wind drifted exposed radical terrain
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low