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Observation: Whitney Basin

Observation Date
1/28/2017
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Whitney Basin
Location Name or Route
Whitney Basin, Yamaha Hill,
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
Northeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Not quite as cold as yesterday, but northeast winds continue along the ridge lines.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Nice dense settled powder and some faceted loose surface snow from the clear nights. Fairly busy today with many riders out enjoying some great snow conditions.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Red Flags Comments
A minor red flag, but the northeast winds were still blowing today.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
I was not able to locate any fresh wind slabs, but there was snow blowing around today from northeast winds.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
I was able to dig around in some mid elevation protected north terrain and did locate buried surface hoar. It was easy to identify in a pit wall and would collapse with moderate effort, but it did not propagate a crack across a larger column.
Comments
The surface hoar layer was easy to identify in this snow pit.
Many steeper slopes were getting lots of traffic and no signs of instability.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate