Observation: Cardiff Fork

Observation Date
1/28/2013
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Cardiac Ridge
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Cloudy with patches of blue sky in the morning, instability showeres in the afternoon.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
11"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
New snow was 10 to 12 inches deep, light density powder with graupel at the bottom.
Comments

Travel today was S facing Toledo Bowl, NW facing Holy Toledo, N facing Eyebrow, N facing Keyhole both into Cardiff, and Cardiac Ridge. Got a pretty good look at all aspects in upper LCC today. S facing Toledo was 10" of dust on a stout melt freeze crust, bottom feeding until the slope angle decreased. All other aspects had about a foot of creamy powder with a spongy bed of graupel at the new snow old snow interface. Sluffing on steeper slopes seemed to be the main event yesterday, with the sluffs moving at a snails pace today. Snow seemed well bonded to the old surface except on steeper S facing slopes with a hard melt freeze crust as a bed surface. Pics, entry into Holy Toledo, sluggish sluff running after a ski cut in Holy Toledo, skier initiated sluffs in Holy Toledo, sluff of the top of Cardiac Ridge, and Keyhole

Did note a few pockets with crowns, one under the cliffs far skiers left Cardiac Bowl and one under the rock slabs between Cardiac Ridge and High Ivory, looked to me that graupel pooling under the cliffs was the culprit in both these pockets, both were under steep cliff bands, looked to be new snow only, and both had sluffs coming off the cliffs as the trigger. Pics pocket in the bowl, pocket under the rock slabs.

Did note one collapse hiking out under the Eyebrow, in a rocky and thin location. Once again not enough weight to start things rolling, very pockety in the upper part of LLC, might be a different story in thinner locations, and if the wind comes in as predicted might load weak areas enough for some action, half to wait and see.