Observation: Two Dogs

Observation Date
1/9/2020
Observer Name
Will McKay
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Two Dogs
Location Name or Route
Two Dogs, Upper Days, Binx's Folly
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
We skied Two Dogs & Upper Days, both facing in general NE - E. Medium sized cornice (3' thick) at the ridge line, with pockets of wind drifted snow below. Did not notice any signs of instability such as cracks or whumps. If winds pick up tonight, we could see bigger & more reactive pockets of wind drifted snow.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
I measured roughly 10''-12'' of fresh storm snow on the N-NE aspects in Days Fork. Pretty blower to say the least. Did not notice any signs of instability. There was one instance of some dry sloughing on Upper Days but nothing that concerned us. If you pushed it steeper, I bet you'd have a lot more sloughing to deal with.
Comments
We skinned up to False Flagstaff (second party up) and noticed a few small point releases by rocks around Toledo Chute (S Aspect). We then dropped into Two Dogs. Very blower snow & no tracks. We headed up Upper Days and that skied just as well. To finish we traversed from the top of Upper Days to the top of Binx's Folly, then skied that down to the car. Overall very stable on the N/NE aspects with great snow, one of the best days of the year IMO. On Binx's Folly (S aspect) we felt the sun crust around 12'' down as we skied. The powder skied great however if we would have pushed into steeper terrian, I'd expect to see more movement from the storm slab.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates