Observation: Cardiff Fork

Observation Date
3/9/2019
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Fork
Location Name or Route
Cardiff Fork
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Cloudy most of the day with a few short breaks of sun. Stayed fairly cold up high with light winds.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
20"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
There was a storm total of about 20 inches of light density snow in Ivory Flakes with about a foot at the bottom of Cardiff. The snow was light density and right side up, there was some damp snow on our exit below 9000ft.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Comments
Travel today was up to Ivory Flakes via BCC, most all the steep W, N and E facing slopes on the way up had avalanched most likely yesterday during high PI rates. Some of the more notable ones that appeared to break into old snow were LSB NE facing with a crown low down on the slope some of the W facing chutes off of the Reed and Benson ridgeline which broke out in the aprons most likely due to graupel pooling, and some fairly impressive slides on the Ivory Rock Slabs that looked like new snow sluffs coming off the rock slabs triggering deeper avalanches when they hit the apron due to graupel pooling. Much of the E-NE facing slopes off of Kessler also avalanched, Shoots and Ladders, included. New snow slides on Cardiac Ridge were also evident. Things seemed pretty benign today, I think what was gonna slide already did and what didn’t slide has for the most part stabilized except for maybe some storm slabs resting on pooled graupel or some preserved light density snow from last weekend.
Photos: avalanches on the Ivory Rock Slabs, with some of the debris making it over the bench, sluffs from today on the Rock Slabs, and one of the crowns in the apron of one of the chutes off the Reed and Benson ridge line.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate