Observation: Hobble Creek Left Fork

Observation Date

1/21/2026

Observer Name

Torrey & McDonald

Region

Provo » Hobble Creek Left Fork

Location Name or Route

Hobble Creek

Weather

Sky

Few

Weather Comments

Temperatures were around freezing throughout the day. High thin cloud moved in by the early afternoon.

Snow Characteristics

Snow Surface Conditions

Dense Loose

Faceted Loose

Wind Crust

Melt-Freeze Crust

Damp

Snow Characteristics Comments

Similar mixed bag of snow surfaces that other observers have reported across the range over the last several days. The biggest difference is the amount of wind damage above 8500’. Wind board, breakable wind board, and orange peel textured snow starting to facet.

Below 8500’ on north aspects held weak faceted snow on the top 8 inches of the snowpack.

Wind Damage on E-NE-Facing slope at 9300 feet.

Wind damage on an east facing slope at 10,300 feet.

Red Flags

Cracking

Poor Snowpack Structure

Red Flags Comments

Old hard windslabs were unreactive.

Avalanche Problem #1

Problem

Persistent Weak Layer

Trend

Decreasing Danger

Problem #1 Comments

For now, the snowpack is conditionally stable. However, the weakening of the surface snow, the thin Christmas Eve rain crust, facets combo, and depth hoar near the ground could lead to a complicated snowpack with multiple persistent weak layers that could fail. Here, the CERC is much thinner than observed in the Salt Lake zone; the layer of facets below is dry, they are gaining strength, but the ~inch of snow directly beneath the crust is soft, loose, and still mostly angular facets. What's the saying about a rounding facet still being a facet? If that wasn't enough, the base of the snowpack still holds a weak layer of depth hoar near the ground.

The weakest surface snow we found was below 8500 feet on NW-N-NE facing slopes.

Snow Profile

Aspect

Northeast

Elevation

9,500'

Slope Angle

24°

Comments

Today's Observed Danger Rating

Low

Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating

Low

Coordinates

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