Observation Date
11/28/2014
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Mirror Lake Highway » Bald Mtn Pass
Location Name or Route
Bald Mountain
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Not typical November temperatures with a morning low of 35 degrees and afternoon highs getting into the mid and upper 40's.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
The trailhead this morning was more like a spring day with a melt freeze crust and frozen tracks till mid-morning when the sun softened things up. The lower elevations have taken a real hit with these warm temperatures, there are patches of pavement on the highway and more dirt and rocks have started to show-up.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Observed one minor collapse as I was walking around the Bald Mountain area, this was likely a tired old wind slab. There is only a little more than 2' of total snow on the ground up near the pass with some early season weak faceted snow near the ground and last weeks strom slab resting on top.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
The snowpack structure is a red flag, but the snow conditions seem to be fairly quiet right now. There does not appear to be a lot of energy in the slab with the snow pits I dug today. Much of the terrain around Bald Mountain Pass is not very well connected, with lots of big rocks still poking up through .
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
There could be a few tired wind slabs along the higher ridge lines, but a person would need to work at getting into this type of terrain as the snow conditions are still thin.
The lower elevations have taken a hit with these warm temperatures, Hwy 150 has started to melt out with dirt and more rocks showing up.
The few folks out riding have been staying in the grassy meadows and other hazard free places.
The area around Bald Mountain is still fairly thin and it takes a lot of snow to cover all those big rocks.
The snow cover is still thin even around 10,000'. The snowpack is typical for early season: there is weak faceted snow near the ground with a 4finger hard slab resting on top.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
