Observation Date
11/8/2013
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Whitney Basin
Location Name or Route
Whitney Basin
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
A warm start to the day with Evanston Wyoming temperatures in the mid-thirties. Up on the forest gusty winds pretty much everywhere till early afternoon and then moderate winds along the ridge lines.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Pretty much a wide range of early season snow conditions. East facing slopes have a melt freeze crust, some settled powder on shady slopes and many south facing areas are melted off or have a very thin snow cover. It's still pretty difficult to get around the area without finding rocks and down timber. I would not recommend trying to ride a sled in the low and mid-elevation areas on the north slope.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
A fair amount of wind loading today along the higher ridge lines. I did observe one small natural avalanche that looked to have released in steep thin rocky terrain, likely from the gusty winds overloading weak snow. The snow pack in the Whitney area is a little different than the upper elevation areas around Bald Mt. I was finding some weak faceted snow near the ground, but not too developed and not reactive in snow pits.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Moderately strong winds today were finding enough snow to drift and form wind slabs along the high ridge lines. This type of terrain is still difficult to access and the bigger hazard is getting caught and going for a ride over exposed rocks and trees.
Comments
1. The south facing terrain is still very thin or has no snow in the Whitney Basin.
2. Amazing how the wind can still find enough snow to drift and form wind slabs along the leeward side of Double Hill.
Much of the area in the Whitney Basin is very thin and travel is a bit difficult.
