Observation Date
1/28/2014
Observer Name
Hardesty and Wilson
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Days Draw
Location Name or Route
Chicken S**t Ridge to Days Draw
Weather
Weather Comments
No "weather", some clouds, light wind
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Rain-Rime Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

Variable conditions out there - wind, sun, and rime crusts....even completely dry up to mid-elevation south-facing...and it's almost February.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Poor structure but mostly stable snow.
Snow Profile
Comments

Talking a lot about crusts today...wind crusts, rime crusts, melt freeze crusts, rain crusts - key points -

  • what's their distribution?
  • how well will new snow bond to them?
  • what role do they play in fostering snow to facets?

All of this is more of a Level 3 type of info, or perhaps a blog post later, but suffice to say that some of them foster the growth of faceted grains, particularly when they are at or very near the surface. See photo of facet chains beneath the mid-Jan rime crust - found mid elevation northerly terrain - thin area where crust was at or near the surface.

Video

Mostly stable snow.

Video

Mostly Low today, rising to Moderate and perhaps even Considerable through the day tomorrow -

Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable