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Observation: Gobblers Knob

Observation Date
1/12/2020
Observer Name
Champion & Staples
Region
Salt Lake » Mill Creek Canyon » Porter Fork » Gobblers Knob
Location Name or Route
Gobblers Knob
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Red Flags Comments
There is simply A LOT of snow with more coming. The surprising avalanche in White Pine that hit the road while it was open is a major heads up. White Pine avalanche here: https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanche/50212
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
The main avalanche problem is pretty simple - THERE IS JUST A LOT OF NEW SNOW. It certainly made us nervous on small steep slopes above terrain traps. It was cracking and producing very small avalanches on the skier's left side of Main Gobblers where there had been just a little bit of wind drifting.
The first photo shows a typical small avalanche involving the top most layers of new snow with just the smallest amount of drifting on them. These were not an issue because we were on generally low angle terrain with a few small sections that were a touch steeper.
The photos below give a sense of how much new snow there is.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
We dug several snowpits on the S face of Gobblers to the west of White Snake. There is an ice crust that formed between Christmas and New Years with a weak layer next to it. Overall, this layer appears to be healing. HOWEVER, it can still produce avalanches with enough loading from snowfall. How much loading? I don't know.
What I do know, is that we tend to see some of the biggest avalanches when we have a relatively strong snowpack and we get large loading events.
The long term prospects for this problem are really good. After storms and wind this week, if we don't see avalanches on this layer, then we may be able to say that it's no longer a problem.
Snow Profile
Aspect
South
Elevation
9,800'
Slope Angle
27°
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates