Observation Date
12/6/2014
Observer Name
Mike Peterson
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Wolverine Cirque
Location Name or Route
The Huge Chute - Wolverine Cirque
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Fairly warm temps with wind swirling on the rim of the cirque, but calm once inside the chutes. Stepped into Granny Chute for a minute but found the entry to be much shallower (uncovered dirt with little effort) than that of The Huge Chute, so we backtracked and dug a pit there.
Surface of snowpack was sparkling with medium sized facets. This will be a layer to maybe keep an eye on after the next storm or transportation event.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Faceted Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments
Our pit on an E aspect at just below 10,500' had an HS of 145cm. We were mainly concerned with the ground/base interface which consisted of 3-6cm of facets. This faceted layer showed evidence of having undergone the "healing" process and bonding to the slab above and the ground below. ECT did not produce any result deep into the snowpack on this layer.
As mentioned above, the surface of the snowpack that isn't being wind-scoured is faceting, making for a loose, soft top few cm. It will be interesting to see how the next snowfall reacts with this developing, potential weak layer.
Below that was a thin slab, 4-5cm thick at about 4F to 4F- hardness, that was not bonded well to the layer beneath it. This slab produced a weak result that did not propagate through the column in any direction (ECTN13). This same layer sloughed off in a manageable and predictable fashion as we put tracks down the chute.
The remainder of the snowpack was more or less one consolidated slab, with slight variation in hardness but no detected reactive layers.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Very small, welded cornice at entry to The Huge Chute was not difficult to negotiate to get into the chute. Dug a pit on a representative aspect that was disconnected from the rest of the entry, separated by a band of rocks.
No collapsing in the entry to the chute nor any shifting/movement of the small cornice guarding the entry.
The only activity was the thin, stiff slab a few cm. deep that sloughed off as we made our turns down the chute.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
No reactivity observed from this layer anywhere on the way up Patsy Marley or anywhere we looked in the Cirque.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
We had reservations as we entered Wolverine Cirque about wind loading and cornices. Cornices were small and not reactive in the slightest. We easily skirted them and found this hazard to be quite manageable.
Snow Profile
Aspect
East
Elevation
10,500'
Slope Angle
38°
Comments
The entry to The Granny Chute was 2-5cm of soft, faceting snow on top of dirt. We backed out of this area due to general rockiness and potential instabilities (trigger points?) that might have been lurking further down the chute as it got steeper and deeper. S
Shiny facets that welcomed us to the top of Patsy Marley and the entrance to the Cirque. Something to look for after the next storm?
Pit as described above. Dug right at the entrance to the chute but disconnected from the rest of the entry/chute.
Fun soft turns on the apron on a supportable layer that kept us off of the rocks that aren't buried too deep below the snow surface.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates
