Observation: Cardiac Ridge

Observation Date
2/21/2013
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Cardiac Ridge
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Broken clouds with sun poking through in the morning, Instability showers, and zero visibility in the afternoon.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
9"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

9 inches of light density snow, which was experiencing some green housing, with the low thin clouds and the sun filtering through, around 10am when I was breaking trail up Cardiac Ridge.

Comments

Travel today was Cardiff Pass, Key Hole entry into Cardiff, Cardiac Ridge, Ivory Flakes. Sluffing in the steeper terrain was the main Insatiability noted from last nights storm. Sluffing was wide spread on Cardiac Ridge and the Bowl, most were initiated during the end of the storm naturally, but I was also able to trigger some long running sluffs while skiing. Pics, natural sluffs between the ridge and the bowl, long running sluff running a 1000ft off the top of Cardiac Ridge, sluffs SE facing Cardiac Ridge.

The sluffs initiated while skiing were not running very fast, but they would run long distances and leave decent sized debris piles. Pics Skier initiated sluff Keyhole entry into Cardiff. Sluff I initiated coming off of Cardiac Ridge, not running fast enough to make me try to avoid it, but removing a good portion of my tracks, Debris pile from the sluff I initiated.

Also of not was wet activity that happened when I was breaking trail up Cardiac Ridge, snow was getting damp from green housing. Interesting to see both dry snow sluffs and wet point releases at the same time. No cracking or collapsing noted today, no extra load from the super light density snow. Pics wet activity on the Ridge, debris pile.