Observation: Scotties Bowl

Observation Date
4/2/2013
Observer Name
Diegel
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
Scotties
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
quite windy in what I usually consider to be a pretty calm area; seemed to peak mid-morning. snowed a foot overnight with warm temps
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
9"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
gooey down low, a little slabby up high
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
tho I thought that the new storm came in right side up, Ev's warning about poor bonding yesterday was taken well. snowed more than anticipated, and even though there wasn't much wind with the snow, it definitely picked up over the morning and was filling in our tracks and therefore creating slabby conditions. We were getting cracking on the steeper rolls, and on one of those I pulled out a very small pocket; 10' across and ran 10 vert feet, just to where the slope mellowed (ie a good test slope). that was all I needed to play it safe. also got a bit of wet activity from ski cuts on the gully walls down low.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
good windloading going on in an otherwise protected area. up high might have gotten spicy?
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
below 8k it was possible to get wet slabs to pull out on steep rolls. I'm sure it got worse (and higher) as the day went on.