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Observation Date
1/5/2018
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline
Location Name or Route
PC Ridgeline
Weather
Sky
Clear
Weather Comments
Exceedingly warm for early January, not much wind on the ridge line.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

N facing slopes continues to facet, breaking down old wind slabs and wind crusts, surface hoar noted in drainage bottoms, damp and melting away on the S end of the compass.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
The snow-pack structure is still poor but without much of a slab or a decent shots of snow in the near future it doesn't really matter for the present time.
Comments

Went back to the PC Ridgeline looking for more slopes where the slab has rotted out and faceted to the point to make skiing reasonable, "Square Powder" as Drew likes to call it. South Monitor fit the bill, long running facet sluffs were common in steeper terrain leaving decent sized debris piles at the bottom, but they are quite predictable and can be managed with ski cuts or just out skiing them works as well, except in confined radical terrain. The snow pack in South Monitor resembled the snow pack in No Name Bowl, basically a foot or so of facets resting on a crust at the ground interface. Wills Hill W facing has a similar snow-pack as well but a bit more layered. I haven't experienced any cracking or collapsing this week and it seems as though the slab has relaxed or disappeared all together. Steeper S facing terrain is starting to melt down to the dirt on the N side of BCC.

Photos: skier triggered facet-sluffs

Low seems like the right call for most terrain right now, but as soon as we add weight on top of the weak snow-pack things should start moving.

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