Observation Date
3/20/2014
Observer Name
Joey Dempster
Location Name or Route
United States
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
South
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Sunny, but the air was still fairly cool.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
5"
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
I skied mostly north facing settled powder in Snake Creek today, but also spent yesterday in Primrose Cirque on Timp, so I have seen a variety of layers and snow surfaces. High exposed areas have been scoured severely by Tuesday's storm, then a few inches of snow deposited on top. In sheltered areas, the new snow (5-6 inches due to less wind affect) fell on either settled powder or graupel.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The new snow is mostly stable, and my party skied steep north facing lines with no signs of instability (along with a few other ski and snowmobile tracks). However, in one hasty pit, I found relatively dense new snow on top of a graupel layer that ran very easily when isolated. I did not think that the slab was heavy or dense enough to propagate... but in the right place it just might. It was enough to keep me picking relatively conservative lines.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northeast
Elevation
9,900'
Slope Angle
35°
Comments
Except for the graupel layer that I found, I did not observe major discontinuities in the snowpack, nor did I observe signs of instability. On Wednesday in Primrose between 8 and 9000 feet the surfaces underneath the new snow were very slick, but there was not enough snow on them to cause a problem. There was massive evidence of scouring and wind transport, so there could be lingering wind slabs somewhere, but I did not find them.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low
Coordinates
