Observation: Brighton Perimeter

Observation Date

2/17/2017

Observer Name

Chester

Region

Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton Perimeter

Location Name or Route

Brighton Backcountry.

Weather

Sky

Overcast

Precipitation

Light Snowfall

Wind Direction

South

Wind Speed

Moderate

Weather Comments

Just a whisp of snow fell round 2pm. Winds se-sw.

Snow Characteristics

Snow Surface Conditions

Powder

Dense Loose

Faceted Loose

Wind Crust

Melt-Freeze Crust

Snow Characteristics Comments

i did not get below 9200' today. Widespread crust. Decent pepering of grauple. Pockety good snow, getting very hard to find consistent ribbons. Checked out se facing sun crust. Bit of glue., Bonded well. E facing less so, not bonded well w facets under crust. Checked out a ne thin windslab. It was 4" , finger + hard. poorly bonded w surface facets below but didnt break. Some snow/ small particles (facets) being transported during gusts. Crust was very hard, with soft underneath. Made for challengeing snowboarding, locked edging, skiing would have been even more interesting. Lots of hard snow. It is gonna take a good refresher to not feel the bottom in most areas.

Red Flags

Wind Loading

Red Flags Comments

Only danger today was from windslabs, cornices, n sluffs.

Avalanche Problem #1

Problem

Wind Drifted Snow

Problem #1 Comments

Our surface snow is our Weak setup for for future, things ill be watching. Facets below the following... 1. Windslab, ne-nw side of compass 2. storm slab, mainly n-ne high shaded where surface facets survived heat/sun. 3. east and west facing crust. -im guessing a bit on this one. Also 4. Grauple pooling under cliffs- may be an concern. Tommorows danger will depend on load. Guessing windslabs will be the bigger threat.

Today's Observed Danger Rating

Moderate

Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating

Moderate

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