Observation Date
1/9/2016
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake
Location Name or Route
PC Ridgeline, South Monitor Bowl
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Colder and clearer today with a light breeze from the NW
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
2"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

The 2 inches of super light density snow from last night put storm totals on the PC Ridgeline at about 12 to 14 inches, light density, right side up.

Comments

I was in the same area yesterday so this is kinda a combination of both days. Since the Christmas avy cycle I've been curious if South Monitor had slid, I looked at it a couple times during that time period and could not tell for sure if it had cleaned itself out or not, then after the east wind event I started not to care because it got hammered by the wind. But with the new snow this week it was time to find out what was up with this slope and see if skiing it seemed prudent. Yesterday I side steeped down about 30ft into the starting zone while constantly probing the depth of the snow below me, it was soon evident that it had slid to the ground and there was new snow only in the steep upper starting zone, I also got a good look at the trees in the bottom of the bowl and it was clear they had debris piled in the small pines at the bottom. The light was not good and I decided wait a day and ski it when visibility was better. With no real wind or a slab of any sort decided it was a good idea, the only activity in the area was sluffing of the new snow on the steep SE facing part of the bowl which had a slick melt freeze crust underlying it. This is kinda the thought process I go through when trying to suss a slope out. I haven't seen a track in this bowl in about 4 weeks, when we remotely triggered a slide in it. I was kind of dumfounded when after seeing a couple tracks in it a hoard of people congregated and punched it with out a second thought, I was curious and asked a few people if they would have skied it without seeing tracks in it and they all said no.

Photos: Sluffing on the SE facing part of the bowl, and the recon I did the day before.

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