Observation: Argenta

Observation Date
1/15/2016
Observer Name
T Diegel
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D South » Kessler » Argenta
Location Name or Route
Argenta
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
snowing harder late day/sunset than we anticipated given the forecast
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

the top few inches was loose but pretty reactive. It was clear that plenty of folks had been in Argenta earlier today, but a lot of the tracks were filled in already by nightfall

Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Red Flags Comments
the top few inches wasn't slabby because most of the time we were mostly out of the wind, but we ran out of daylight and didn't feel like assuming the ridge anyway because the wind was blowing enough through that relatively sheltered area that we thought the ridge might be getting loaded.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments

Hard to say if it was slabbing up high, but approaching/learning that from below felt suboptimal. with a bit more wind in the forecast higher, more exposed terrain could be a little skitchy. That said, below the first few inches down about 3+ feet it felt pretty rock solid....I don't know if the upper headwall slid during the holiday cycle, but it doesn't seem like it and it feels like it's fairly solid so deep slabs seem unlikely.

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