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Observation: Grizzly Gulch

Observation Date
1/12/2018
Observer Name
J.Spitzer
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Grizzly Gulch
Location Name or Route
Grizzly Gulch to Silver Fork
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Wx summary : moring was light snowfall with overcasted skies. NW winds moderate with strong gusts at times in AM. By mid day clearing from the North West moved slightly over us with skies cover becoming broken. Wind decreased to but still strong gusts on ridglines. We witness intense wind transport in the AM on higher elevation ridgelines.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
8"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments

medium dense surface riding conditions on North and East aspects today. This recent storm really help the overall coverage and much needed refresh in the Wasatch.

Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Recent Avalanches : avalanche in the Silverfork Headwall zone most likely ran on Wednesday/Thursday. Several avalanches looking into Days Fork in the Two Dogs and Onigo Bonigo area. N and NW wind transported snow today creating small isolated pockets of wind slab on the ridge between Davenport Hill and West Bowl Silver Fork. easy to manage but worth noting lots of wind transport today up high.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments

slowly (very slowly) decreasing danger as our spx gets use to the current load of the recent water weight. The layer of the spx is still the same and this problem isn't going to fix itself anytime soon. Low angle and avalanche resistent terrain is the game.

Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments

Recent strong winds with lots of snow for transport. Today we noticed both recent wind load pockets on N-NE terrain as well as small isolated pockets on S-SE terrain near ridgelines.

Comments

Don't let the sunshine tomorrow fool you. The persistent slab is there so just avoid skiing/riding on steep slopes or being underneath them.

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