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Observation Date
11/23/2012
Observer Name
Bruce Tremper
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
White Pine in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Nice warm day, mostly sunny
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
3"
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
If you're a snowshoer, you don't need them on the low elevation trails--you need crampons! Very icy. Snow in the sun is quite soggy but the snow above about 9,000' on the shady slopes is dense, creamy, dry snow composed of about 3 inches of graupel and in the upper elevation, wind exposed areas, it's quite wind blown with old, dense, variable wind drifts and tricky on skis.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
Old wind slabs in upper elevation, wind exposed areas sometimes crack under your weight but they seem stubborn and not too reactive.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Old, lingering wind slabs in wind exposed areas but they are stubborn and not very reactive. They are probably not much of a concern but deserve mentioning.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
The old depth hoar near the ground continues to propagate fractures on Extended Column Tests but it's quite inconsistent and you have to beat on them quite hard to get them to go. We have not had any avalanches triggered on this layer in about a week, so it appears to be mostly dormant but needs to be mentioned. You find this weak layer only on northwest, north and northeast facing slopes above about 9,500'. Botom Line: mostly Low danger
Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
10,000'
Slope Angle
35°
Video
Short video on my snowpit test in White Pine with an explanation of the snowpack.
Coordinates