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Observation Date
3/21/2015
Observer Name
Bruce Tremper
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » White Pine
Location Name or Route
White Pine to Lake Peak
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Yet another beautiful day but with variable high clouds, warm temperatures and a moderate wind kept the snowpack relatively cool.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments

Snow was surprisingly good as a moderate wind kept the snow surface from becoming complete mush. Most of it remained supportable on the sunny aspects but you were sinking in to the ground in the shallow snowpack areas. The upper elevation north facing slopes remained dry and refrozen above about 10,000'. People are getting out and everyone was enjoying it that I talked with. Most slopes have lots of tracks to the tops of the highest peaks.

But the lack of snow keeps me discombobulated because I keep pinching myself when I realize it's only mid March. It seems like mid May on an average year or later. The White Pine trail is not quite melted out to bare patches yet but it's getting close. All the south facing slopes are almost completely bare to upper elevations and the north facing slopes below about 9,000' are starting to show bare patches and looking quite moth-eaten below 8,000'.

Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
Just a few sluffs that look recent coming off the exposed rocks. The snow is still punchy and saturated in places but it's supportable in most places
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Problem #1 Comments

Still some potential for wet releases especially for wet sluffs in shallow areas and especially near rocks. But most slopes are staying in place quite well.

Around 3:30 pm we skied Lake Chute off of Lake Peak, which is east facing and the surface snow had melted enough to make good turning and did punch through at times in shallow areas near rocks. Other people were skiing west facing Red Baldy and appeared to be finding similar snow.

Comments

Some recent-looking sluffs on east facing slopes around 8,500' in white Pine. It's hard to tell when these occurred but they look pretty fresh.

A view from just above 10,000' in White Pine looking north to the bare, south facing slopes across Little Cottonwood Canyon. The upper elevation, shady aspects still have good coverage but south is all melted out.

Lunch spot looking at Red Baldy, which is filled with ski tracks

East-facing Lake Chute had good, supportable corn even in the late afternoon but the snow in the shade up top was getting icy. This is all mostly between 10,000 and 11,000 feet.

Photo taken down around 8,000' looking at the south facing slopes--astoundingly bare naked for mid March.

And even the north facing slopes in the foreground are getting pretty moth-eaten below about 9,000' The White Pine trail does not yet have bare patches but it's close.

Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low