Observation: West Willow

Observation Date
1/15/2014
Observer Name
Cone/Anderson/Smith
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Willows » West Willow
Location Name or Route
West Willow
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Beautiful night. Full Moon. Light Winds. Temps in the teens.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
10"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Some cornices on the West Willow ridge were collapsed, likely from (Sunday - Monday). Looks like they did not trigger anything other than some small sluffs in the new snow, but hard to tell for sure at night. We got an ECTP 14 on a pit on E facing West Willow. 9500'. 27 degree slope. What a good looking shot! Our first time looking at this run. The slab collapsed near the ground, requiring a small a nudge to pull out. I suspect it would have popped out with more energy on a slightly steeper slope. Result was enough for us to move on to Beartrap Glades. Thought I would post this up after reading the 12/17/13 daily report highlighting the ECTP 13 observation from Silver Fork. Similar result on a similar aspect in a slightly different location.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Same
Snow Profile
Aspect
East
Elevation
9,500'
Slope Angle
27°
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates