Observation Date
3/11/2014
Observer Name
Kikkert
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver Fork
Location Name or Route
Silver Fork
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
North
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Mostly cloudy all afternoon with light snowfall that didn't add up to much, and only the occasional clearing. Despite the clouds, was still quite warm, particularly at the lower elevations.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
9"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

I'll keep this short and just say that I mostly just second what Mark said in his ob, as we were in similar places, and I think he nailed everything perfectly. New snow skied well and was dry on what seemed like all aspects as of 6 pm. There was a few periods of greenhousing, but they were short and not sufficient to really dampen the surface. Longest running sluffs on lower elevation east facing where the underlying surface was slick, sluffing on steep northerlies was more limited.

Did dig a bit on mid and upper elevation north facing to look for any buried weaknesses, but for the most part the upper meter to meter and a half was pretty homogenous 1 finger slab, with only a couple stubborn, not very clean or energetic shears from Feb. Facets from early season were buried pretty deeply in the upper elevations. Probing around mid-elevations did show some shallower areas with less of a bridge over the facets, but they were spotty. Moderate tomorrow for wet loose activity. Plan for tomorrow is to ski any east and southeast early, then move to more northerly slopes to avoid daytime heating, keeping low elevation exits in mind.

Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
I'd say no red flags, with rapid warming a red flag for tomorrow. Also, east winds don't look forecast to be all that strong, but worth watching for surprise wind slabs on W facing terrain.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate