Observation Date
12/28/2014
Observer Name
Bruce Tremper and Susi Hauser
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline » Monitors
Location Name or Route
Monitors
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Around 10 deg F with a moderate wind, snow all day. Quite cold and miserable at times except for the skiing, that is.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
8"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

Ah, one of the best days of the year, yet again, with a couple storms of light powder about shin deep now and you sink into your knees or farther if you step out of your skis. It's amazing how much new snow we've gotten in the past few days--all extremely light powder.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments

The persistent slab is the main concern because it's the classic low probability with high consequences. The snowpack has a lot of variability from place to place and now that everything is covered up, it's impossible to untangle without a detailed geographic history. So the uncertainty circle on the probability-consequence diagram is quite large. The thin snowpack areas have worse stability tests and in the deeper snowpacks, the stability is much better. I was getting compression tests of about 25 (hard taps from the shoulder) and in the shallower snowpack areas it's about 15-20 (medium taps from the elbow). I would still avoid all the steep, rocky slopes, especially ones with a thin snowpack combined with lots of wind loading during the December 21-22 storm. Good luck figuring out which those are now that everything is covered up--generally above about 9,500' on northwest, north, northeast and east facing slopes.

Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #2 Comments

The new snow is so light that it doesn't take much wind to transport it to the lee slopes. The wind slabs are mostly quite soft but definitely cracking and sensitive on steeper slopes. The wind looks like it's popping up again tonight, so expect more wind slabs along the ridges again tomorrow.

Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
9,600'
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable