Sign Up for the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) on December 7th!
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills On-Snow Courses Resources and Tutorials
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Abajos

Observation Date
12/19/2022
Observer Name
Matthew Cozart
Region
Abajos
Location Name or Route
North Peaks
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Heavy loading was present on all NE/N/NW aspects. As soon as I stepped into anything above 15 degrees, cracking, collapsing, and whomping immediately happened. The heaviest of wind drifts had 4 feet of snow. Most areas had between 2 and 3 feet of coverage. I made it up to 10K before turning around. Wind has been sporadic. Sometimes out of the north. Other times out of the west.
Comments
It is still very thin on the majority of rideable surfaces. The wind is scouring the south faces and depositing them into the north aspects. I'm still very suspect of anything above 30 degrees out there. Especially on NE/N/NW faces. The overall snowpack is weak as well. More sand like than snow. Very faceted and not bonding well.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates