Observation Date
12/15/2012
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
PC ridgeline , Monitors
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Light snow with the sun peeking through once and a while, light wind speeds and moderate temps.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
9"
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
About 9 inches of new light density snow sitting on a variable bed surface, wind crust, settled powder, melt freeze crust.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Comments
Main attraction today was long running sluffs in steeper terrain. These sluffs were easily initiated, ran fast and were packing enough of a punch to knock you off your feet and carry you if you were not paying attention. Pic sluffing in West Monitor, not from a cornice drop but initiated just by pushing some snow down the hill, running all the way to the flats.
Also of note was more of a soft slab that I released on the break-over of Wills Hill, this is the only place where I saw a actual crown in the new snow with some propagation . Pic debris from the steep roll-over on Wills Hill
Saw some ski tracks going into a relatively large sluff in South Monitor couldn't tell if somebody took a ride or not, did see both pair of tracks exiting the sluff.
No cracking or collapsing noted today. Also no stepping down into old snow produced by the sluffing today not enough weight, mabye later in the week