Observation Date
11/14/2013
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Mirror Lake Highway » Bald Mtn Pass
Location Name or Route
Bald Mt. Murdock Peak
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Pleasant day up along the pass, a few high clouds moving through and winds gradually increased from the southwest as the afternoon went on.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
A variety of snow conditions right now. There was a very thin dusting of new snow from last nights minor cold front that moved through, some weak surface snow that has developed from the mild weather and a sun crust on a few aspects.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
It was a good chance to get out and see what the surface conditions are and what the snow pack structure looks like before the weekend storm. Where there is enough snow it has developed into a weak faceted snow pack from the top down. Not much of any kind of a slab right now, there is some old tired wind slabs in some of the more exposed terrain. I would anticipate some decent avalanche activity with a storm that had some good water weight with it. Any activity will likely be in the upper elevation terrain where there is the most snow right now.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
A storm with some water could get things going as far as some avalanche activity. I would guess the activity would be somewhat isolated to those areas where the snow pack is a little deeper and the faceted snow more developed. Not a lot of the terrain is very well connected right now, lots of anchors and hazards still visible.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Comments
1. The south facing slopes took a big hit this week with the mild temperatures.
2. This would be the type of terrain where a person could find some trouble- old thin weak snow with rocks and hazards.
Not much going on with the snow pack right now, but with some snow and water overloading the weak snow pack the hazard will rise.
