Observation: Cardiac Ridge

Observation Date
4/23/2020
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Fork » Cardiac Ridge
Location Name or Route
Cardiac Ridge
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Completely socked I’m in the AM, rising cloud deck and a random sucker hole in the PM. Short periods of moderate to heavy snowfall, and moderate to strong WNW winds on the ridge line.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
3"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
2 to 3 inches of new snow by 4pm, mostly graupel with a carvable frozen base underneath. Snow rain line was basically at Alta's base in the AM.
Comments
Headed into Cardiff via Alta, zero visibility, and moderate snowfall until 2pm, more showery after that. Skied into the Keyhole which is full of frozen clinkers, bad call on my part. Then headed to Hansen's on Cardiac Ridge, mainly because it has a few trees and helped with the nauseating vertigo in the dense fog. The new snow skied well on smooth lower angle slopes, not so well on the steeps or slopes with old tracks or debris. The wind was nuking on the ridge line but it wasn't slabbing up the new snow in the terrain covered, there's also not much new snow for transport. If we don't receive much more new snow I would expect the hazard to remain low except for shallow wind slabs in select locations.
photos: graupel, wind on the ridge line and the rising cloud deck in the afternoon
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low