Observation: Big Cottonwood Canyon

Observation Date
12/16/2020
Observer Name
John Lemnotis
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon
Location Name or Route
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Storm snow since 12/12 has settled on the old faceted snow surface and had a chance to create more of a slab in some areas. This is most evident where there has been wind transport but we are seeing that the layer buried on 12/12 has not bonded well and will be a dangerous weak layer moving forward. Today we noted its presence on a W aspect in BCC at 9300'. The attached video shows a sudden collapse failure during an ECT with full propagation. The facets in this basal layer (bottom 30cm of snow) were 2mm faceted grains. In a separate pit not more than 100 meters away the basal layer contained smaller gains and the new/old interface did not propagate. The surface snow of the second pit was weak (fist) and did not feel slabby at all. The danger trend on this layer will be increasing with a new load of snow slated to arrive tomorrow.
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None