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Observation Date
12/31/2012
Observer Name
Jonathon Spitzer
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Kessler Peak, West Couloir
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Cold temperature with thin clouds in the mtns today.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Faceted Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Surface snow varies greatly with aspect. We observed very light density snow on protected areas on North facing aspects. On open terrain features facing South West or anything that tilted to directly South there was a thin M/F crust with a dusting of snow on top. Beautiful surface hoar (2-3m) formation building on protect slops today.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
We skied the West Couloir on Kessler today. The snowpack depth at the entrance was approx. 70-80cm which stayed consistent until about 8600ft. The layering in the snowpack overall is thin and has the potential to be problematic in the future. Currently there is ~20cm of faceted grains on the bottom with the recent storm snow on top. There is no slab in the snowpack however if the recent storm snow becomes more cohesive this could become a problem. Below 8600ft that snowpack was thin and shallow in places. Happy New Years!