Observation: Cardiff Fork

Observation Date
1/23/2020
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Fork
Location Name or Route
Cardiff/Cardiac
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Foggy and obscured sky’s, warm and humid air, light winds from the NW, lightly snowing not adding up to much
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Rain-Rime Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Seemed like the storm total for the upper Cardiac area was about a foot of fairly dense snow caped off with a thin rime crust above 8500ft on all aspects. Below 8000ft the snow was damp. The snow is a bit inverted, noticeable while breaking train but not while skiing, boot deep ski penetration.
Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
No real red flags today, the dense new snow was well bonded to the underlying surface, not much wind loading today and not much new snow and the density inversion did not seem to be reactive.
Comments
Travel today was up over Cardiff Pk, Keyhole into upper Cardiff, Hansen's on Cardiac Ridge, Rockslabs, Ivory Flakes and out BCC. The dense new snow was coated with a thin rime crust, it seems like the rimming event occurred this morning seeing it was on top of the new snow. Sluffing was pretty hard to come by do to the high density of the snow. There was a bit of cracking in the new snow due to the density inversion but nothing too alarming. Visibility was hard to come by most of the day, so I didn't get a very good look at the high peaks.
photos: thin rime crust, and the low cloud deck.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate