Planned Website Outage: The UAC website will be down for maintenance on June 17 from 2:00 - 7:00 PM MT.

Observation: Cutler Ridge

Observation Date
3/1/2017
Observer Name
Evelyn
Region
Ogden » Ben Lomond » Cutler Ridge
Location Name or Route
Cutler Ridge to 8000'
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
A few blue holes, most of the Chilly peak and ridge line were below the clouds, but never saw the top of Ben Lomond. Winds calm to the weather site, but picked up immediately above, gusty, but strong enough to drift snow at times.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
2"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments

Powder. Low density snow from mid elevations on up; snow was just a bit denser at the low elevations on the exit. Not enough sun for any crusts to have formed when I left at 2:30. Snow seems to have settled a bit.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Red Flags Comments
Snow conditions changed fast once into wind affected terrain. Shallow, but dense wind slabs, and a few harder wind slabs. Was not high enough today to see the real effect of the wind, but clouds seemed to be zipping along above the high ridge lines.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northeast
Elevation
7,800'
Slope Angle
33°
Comments

Everyone in Ogden must have sharpened their shovel blade, and I missed the memo...nice rain crust! No results from stability tests. The storm snow now seems well bonded to the crust. I'd expect only activity involving the newer snow above the crust - wet sluffs and wind drifts - in the short term. (Months from now, it will be interesting if this ice layer pools water as the snow pack goes isothermal, and produces wet slabs.)

Signs of previous wind - scouring and small cornices, at mid elevations.

Uniform layering on all aspects/elevations - powder on ice. Just different thicknesses. Pit below was 6500', north. Quick pits on SE looked similar. I saw no sun crusts in the middle of the powder layer.

Direct sun and heat #1 issue for tomorrow - Moderate for wet loose sluffs? Hopefully heating will be gradual enough that just an upper layer of powder gets damp and sluffs, not all the snow to the ice crust. Wind sheltered mid and lower elevation shady slopes - low danger. I would expect there are still some more serious wind slabs up high that need to be avoided.

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