Observation Date
2/7/2021
Observer Name
Trenbeath, Garcia
Region
Moab » Gold Basin
Location Name or Route
Funnel -Gold Miners - Gold Basin
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Beautiful day in the mountains (if you don't like winter storms in February) with mostly sunny skies, light to moderate westerly winds, and high temps at 10,000' near 30F.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Variable conditions with more than a week lapsed since last snowfall. Wind and sun have crusted over exposed surfaces and many of these areas are quite thin - even showing rocks, grass, and occasionally bare ground. Northerly aspects, and sheltered slopes have between 2' and 4' of snow. 38" on the stake in Gold Basin.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
We made a point of looking at slopes with westerly components to their aspect as we have a pretty good handle on east. W, and WSW slopes do have facets, primarily above treeline, or in shallow, wind exposed areas, but for the most part, they can be found in shallow, facet/crust combinations without an overriding slab. In an isolated, drifted area right at treeline we were able to find a reactive slab over the facets, but this situation seemed far and few between. The more south we wrapped, the shallower and more crusted the snow became and we didn't find any slabs on SW or due S, just very shallow snow with crust/facet combos. Dropping down to just below treeline we found generally strong, and comparitively deep snow on WSW and W aspects.
Wrapping around to the NW right around treeline is where the problems start, and here we found a nice cohesive slab sitting on top of weak facets. An ECT produced propagation at 22.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Here is a view of the snowpit we dug on a NW aspect at 10,700'. The poor structure is obvious, and though the ECT results suggest a strengthening snowpack, it's not a situation that I will trust anytime soon.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
Westerly winds over the weekend and late last week managed to slowly but surely drift old snow as well as the 2" we received on Thu. In our travels we observed fresh drifts cross loaded on to northwesterly aspects, and easterly aspects had definitely blown in as well. I suspect most of these slabs have stabilized, but in some cases they have increased the load on top of buried, persistent weak layers. For this reason, I feel that the danger is still CONSIDERABLE on upper elevation, wind drifted slopes that face NW-N-SE.
Comments
Generally speaking we have a widely variable and overall shallow snowpack. Avalanche problems on the south side of the compass exist primarily on wind drifted slopes that face SE. Weak, faceted snow can be found on most aspects at all elevations, but the primary concerns are on slopes facing NW-N-E where slabs 1'-3' thick exist on top of these facets. At upper elevations, wind drifted snow has added an additional load to these buried weak layers. Stability tests suggest a strengthening snowpack, and I believe we are trending toward moderate danger however, with the current snowpack structure, I won't be trusting steep, northerly facing terrain for some time, if at all this season. And any additional snow load of around 6" or .5" of water will instantly raise the danger.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates
