Observation Date
4/2/2013
Observer Name
Andy Rich
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Holy Toledo, Cardiff
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Wind Direction
North
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Winds in the canyon bottom between Snowbird and Alta moderate from the south with noticable transport happening- ground blizzard on the road made me feel like I was driving I-80 in southern WY. Above 9000' dense clouds made visibility very poor and navigation and avalanche assessment difficult except for at a very localized level. As we gained elevation on the southerly slopes, winds were from the north with transport becoming more pronounced as we approached ridge top elevation.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
10"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments

Dense wind affected snow in the upper layer of new snow on south aspects. In most places the wind slab was 4-10cm thick, although at ridge top and in other isolated pockets the new wind slab was 20-40cm thick. It seemed clear that the highest PI overnight came with no wind and was actually surprisingly light, but in the early morning when the snow stopped, the winds picked up and the temps began to warm a bit, there was a very noticable effect in the upper layer of the southerly aspect slopes. When we skied at at noon, north still felt consistent and fairly well bonded to the old snow surface while souths were becoming increasingly touchy. I'm sure that if the clouds clear our and sun shows its head there'll be some action on south aspects.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Most notable red flags on southerly aspects, even before the sun was a factor (basically full white out all morning above 9000'). Several cracks shooting up to 20', a few small (D1) avalanches.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #1 Comments

The low density snow over night is quickly being transported and compacted into sensitive wind slabs on south aspect slopes. The underlying new low density snow is making for an upside down structure that is very weak. Sun or continued warming this afternoon will likely spike hazard.