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Observation: Whitney Basin

Observation Date
12/12/2015
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Whitney Basin
Location Name or Route
Whitney Basin-Carrot Hollow
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Broken sky with on again off again instability showers and cool temperatures with light southeast winds.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
A nice 6" of new snow and another 1" throughout the day. Mostly low density new snow and manageable winds from what I observed. Still not a great base out there for riding and turning and I was punchng into the bushes and weak sugary snow. Some places are filling in slowly, but still quite thin in places.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Still normal caution, lots of faceted sugary snow in the lower terrain and isolated wind issues higher up.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Normal Caution
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The rideable terrain is still limited with nobody really getting onto steeper slopes.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
The winds seemed to be fairly behaved with the recent storm, I did not observe any real wind issues, but did not spend time in the higher terrain.
Comments
1. The riding is still bushy and punchy on this south facing slope. 2. But on a more northerly protected slope the coverage is a little better and less hazards. 3. The Whitney area is just a good storm away from getting out and riding.
Video
Looking up at some of the high start zones, it is still busy and thin, so the hazard when it starts snowing might be futher down the slope where the pack is a little deeper and might hold more weight before failing.
Most of my stability tests were not showing much in the way of concern, however I did get one ECT to fail with 11 taps with good energy, failing on weak snow near the ground. Maybe a sign of things to come where enough of a slab has started to develop?
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate