Observation Date
4/23/2014
Observer Name
Jeff Morton
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Grizzly Gulch
Location Name or Route
Grizzly Gultch
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
The temperatures were cool this morning, we had to bundle up to stay warm. The winds were pretty consistant out of the Northwest and became uncomfortable several times once we reached the ridgeline. There was light snow to start the tour but it stopped shortly after 7 am and it looked as though there was some clearing as we left the mountain.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
3"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
There was about 3" of new light snow. The snow seemed fairly dry and light, although I have never been too good at determining water content. The snow skied well and was supportable enough to keep us off the hard crust directly below the new snow. Because of the winds, there were areas where the new snow was nowhere to be found. This caused some interesting route finding down the slope. One minute you were skiing fun powder, the next your were skiing ice. You could see evidence of the old snow everywhere. This is typically the case on wind blown ridges, but it was even occuring in areas that are generally protected from the wind. This indicates to me that the new snow is not bonding very well with the old snow. The Northeast face of Patsey Marley was completely wind damaged and probably not much fun to ski.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
There were not a lot of red flags today, but there was definitly evidence of wind loading on the northeast, east and southeast aspects. We crossed some wind loaded areas where the snow depth was 12-15". In one instance, my partner and I jumped on a wind loaded area to see what would happen and the snow immediatly cracked and ran a few feet. The snow is not bonding very well with the old snow and the wind loaded areas will most likely run on the New/Old snow interface. I would let the snow settle out a little before jumping into anything steep on the leeward slopes. Minor Cracking noted, primarily in the wind affected areas but the wind slabs were not very hard.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The is the biggest issue for the next day or so. The wind was moving snow everywhere.
Comments
Nice to have the new snow and it did ski well. We touched bottom a few times, but for the most part we stayed on top. The wind was constant while we were touring and there is most likely a few slabs out there ready to go so pay close attention to the slope aspect as the loading was primarily on the right side of the compass.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
