Observation: Weber Canyon

Observation Date
12/24/2015
Observer Name
Mark Staples
Region
Uintas » Upper Weber Canyon » Weber Canyon
Location Name or Route
Upper Weber Canyon
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Surprise beautiful day for sledding. We didn't get above treeline. About 9800/9900 was as high as we went. There was very little wind and the trees were still snow covered. Cold temps this morning on the ride in. Stayed cool and S facing slopes had dry snow all day long. Such a treat to ride dry powder in the sun.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

Over the hood riding. Didn't measure new snow depths (day off sorry), but I'd say maybe 1.5 feet of new on average.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Collapsing
Red Flags Comments
We were surprised not to see avalanches, but we experienced lots of collapsing.
Comments

Dug a few times on southerly aspects. No need on northerly aspects...we know it's bad.

On a SE aspect at 9700ft I found some stable snow. Rock solid but I wouldn't extrapolate to any other slopes. They are guilty until proven otherwise. Total snow depth was 110 cm (3.6 ft)

On a S aspect at 9800 feet I got different results. Total snow depth was 105 cm (3.4 ft). Did two extended column tests. Both broke about 3 inches above the ground and the break propagated across the whole column after 13 and 14 taps (3 and 4 from the elbow). The coding for this is ECTP 13 and ECTP 14. This indicates unstable snow. My gut feeling was that S facing slopes aren't too bad, but I would hold off riding slopes steeper than 30 degrees for now.

The widespread collapsing and unstable stability test results trump any gut feeling.for now.

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