Observation Date
2/26/2019
Observer Name
Joey Dempster
Region
Provo » Provo Canyon » South Fork Provo R. » Big Springs
Location Name or Route
Right Fork of Big Springs, South Fork of Provo Canyon
Comments
I dug down 100cm. The snow below that was all very hard and consolidated. I did not dig to the ground to check for facets. Total snow depth was 280cm. The one layer of concern was a graupel layer that was quite visible in the pit at 40cm. But it did not fail until the very last extra hard hit in an ECT (see video). The failure was a break, and Q3. While relatively weak, it is not overloaded or active at the moment. We did not find any contradictory evidence in skiing progressively steeper slopes throughout the day. There is also a detectable discontinuity at about 25cm that is probably an old snow surface, but it is also not active at the moment (see photo). I would call the hazard today moderate, but only for the possibility of wind loaded snow on the upper ridges. Sheltered areas lower with small depositions of wind transported snow have a low hazard. Large, open, high elevations slopes that may have facets are still a no-go for me because of the potential for facets at the bottom.


Video
Snow closeup is of graupel pulled from the 40cm layer (lower line in snowpit wall photo)
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates