Observation Date
2/9/2014
Observer Name
Bruce Tremper and Andrew Hobman
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » 10420
Location Name or Route
Guardsman's Pass and Peak 10,420
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Heavy snow early in the day with snow diminishing late. Warm temperatures with rain in town and snow starting partway up the canyon.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
2.5'
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
The upper part of Big Cottonwood Canyon seemed to get the brunt of most of this storm. We found 2.5 - 3 feet of new snow, which is also fairly dense so it packs a lot of weight. It rides very nicely with good body to the snow and supportable.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
There was extensive avalanche activity today at all the resorts from explosive avalanche mitigation with many large, deep avalanches. There were reports of several natural avalanches as well from the backcountry and some remote triggers. The very large water equivalent of snow over the past several days has really added up the weight and we it seems that our high and extreme danger ratings today have been confirmed.
Today we saw one slab probably from yesterday on the steep, east facing slopes of the Peak 10,420 ridge line. My snowmobiling friends reported seeing a large avalanche from the East Face of Ant Knoll, which took out the entire bowl and ran a very long distance. This probably occurred yesterday.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
The main problem is that our multi-day storm has added 2-4 or more inches of water equivalent weight over the past several days. It is overloading many of the weak layers buried deep in the snowpack such as the faceted layers and surface hoar now buried 3 or more feet deep by the new snow. With extensive avalanche activity over the past couple days, in both the backcountry and from explosive avalanche mitigation at the ski resorts, it seems our High and Extreme danger ratings have verified.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wet Snow
Problem #2 Comments
With lots of rain at lower elevations, we've seen quite a few damp and wet sluffs in the steep, low elevation terrain.
Comments
Here is a quick video of my friend Andrew (Hobbie) Hobman, the Director of the New Zealand Avalanche Center. He's staying with me for a few days and it's nice change of pace to see a video of an international expert explaining our snowpack instead of our usual crew.
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
High
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
High
