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Observation Date
12/1/2016
Observer Name
John Lemnotis
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » White Pine
Location Name or Route
White Pine
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Light snow through the early afternoon. Light wind and very little accumulation.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Snow surface on W through N aspects still holds pleasant riding.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Still focussing on the thin snowpack with basal facets and depth hoar present in isolated areas.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
While great snow remains on the surface the storm snow is consolidating into a more cohesive slab with the ground layer holding facets or depth hoar on the upper elevation N half of the compass. This will remain my primary concern until it begins to heal or more snow arrives.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
Slowly working its way out of the problem list is the storm slab. Good settlement, good riding conditions, but still a a possibility to trigger a slide on the new/old interface in steeper terrain.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northwest
Elevation
10,300'
Slope Angle
33°
Comments
The layer that broke appeared to be a thin layer of small grained facets. I can't comment on it too much because I'm a bit confused as to where it came from. I dug a couple hundred feet higher off of the skin track and the same density change with thin facets was present there as well. Perhaps a forecaster can shed some light.
Video
It was difficult to see the break when doing the test so I continued to tap in the video. This was a repeat of the first ECT that propagated at 19 on the same layer. The pit was at 10300, don't listen to my babbling in this one, I think I was nervous.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate