Observation Date
1/16/2018
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Whitney Basin
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
East
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Beautiful day with mostly sunny skies, calm to light winds and great day to view the numerous slides that happened over the holiday weekend.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Faceted Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Loose faceted snow on the surface from the clear cold nights recently, a few old wind slabs around in exposed terrain and generally nice supportable riding and turning conditions.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
No red flags observed today aside from the continued weak snow pack structure, where a handful of triggered slides this weekend resulted from.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The conditions felt like they were trending toward a moderate hazard, but still the possibility of triggering a decent size avalanche given the right slope as seen from the Yamaha Hill avalanche.
Comments
I combined photos of the handful of slides I viewed today that occurred over the holiday weekend. A common theme with these are: north to northeast aspects, around 9,500 to 10,000' in elevation, failing on weak sugary snow above the buried crust, likely triggered low on the slope. Fortunately no one was caught to my knowledge.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
