Observation Date
12/11/2016
Observer Name
ryan
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline
Location Name or Route
Park City Ridge
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Strong
Weather Comments
Fast moving clouds. More and more windy as we ascended USA Bowl to the PC ridge. Temperature was comfortable out of the wind and shade. Sun was poking through frequently.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Snow felt heavier compared to all of last week. Soft snow in sheltered areas made for good turns. More and more wind affected the higher we got. Wind effect started maybe half way up USA bowl. South Monitor had southwesterly winds blowing across the ridge AND winds blowing up slope in the bowl (opposite direction). Will's Hill had more of a damp feel which affected your skiing.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Cracking around skis as we got into USA bowl. Cracks propagated further as we neared the ridge, and even further just on the leeward side (maybe 8 ft). Strong winds on the ridge caused visible snow transport, small cornice formations, textured snow surfaces, and rime on trees and bushes (though the rime has been around for a while now). Got a collapse on a test slope on the leeward side of the PC ridge, about a 12 ft diameter area. No new naturals were observed in the Monitors.
Two weak layers. One about 8 inches down, clean shears. The other is the facets at the ground. Snow depth in USA bowl at this location was about 1.5ft 2 ft.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Problem #1 Comments
Definite wind loading on the northerly aspects. We were able to get things to move on a leeward test slope on the PC ridge up to 10 inches deep. This is where we observed cracks shooting further away from our skis and got a collapse. All parties out today were wisely choosing their slopes and slope angles.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #2 Comments
Facets still remain at the ground. A wind slab may be able to step down to the deeper layer below.
Comments
Travel plan today was to avoid any steep slopes on the way in to where ever we wanted to go. Led us to USA bowl and wanted to check out what was going on along the Park City Ridge. Not a single track in the Monitors, and rightfully, and wisely, so. Good amount of traffic in USA bowl and Will's Hill area. We were able to get things to move on a test slope. Would have certainly ran further if it was an actual run.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
High
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates
