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Observation: Dry Creek

Observation Date
3/17/2021
Observer Name
McKinley Talty
Region
Provo » Box Elder » Dry Creek
Location Name or Route
Dry Creek Canyon
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Weather Comments
Graupel fell on and off throughout the afternoon, heavy at times.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Snow & ice covered the trail beginning at about 6,100'. Off trail, snow surface was wet to very wet with a boot pen of 23 cm at 8,025'.
Comments
Went up into Dry Creek Canyon to see how the snow was looking. Dug a quick snowpit at 8,025' on a slight W facing rib. Height of snow was 115 cm and was wet from top to bottom. The bottom 34cm was the least wet and the least hardest layer (4F), but I was still able to make a hard snowball out of it. The most saturated snow was about halfway down the snowpack where water was collecting in old and decomposed crusts above & below a 1F 5cm layer (see photo).
What this means for the future I'm not quite sure as wet slab avalanches are very hard to predict. For now I'll stick to what I know and turn around when the roller balls start rolling, or when I sink into the snow above my boot.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low
Coordinates