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Observation: White Pine

Observation Date
3/10/2018
Observer Name
Luke
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » White Pine
Location Name or Route
White Pine
Weather
Sky
Clear
Weather Comments
Beautiful sunny day, warm for March the whole day I was touring.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Damp/slushy on pretty much all aspects until about 9000' except in the trees which had a crust layer. E through W above that was softening, appears it could form a 'corn' cycle in the next week if the nighttime temps hold below freezing. N facing held some excellent dense loose snow, unfortunately until/if the snowpack builds I don't really trust that the persistent problem has gone away. Too shallow.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Rapid Warming
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
The warming wasn't as bad as I thought...but I did go up high enough to mitigate much of the really low snowpack and associated structure. With the slides over the last few days it should be on your mind, as well as the overall low snowpack. I don't think the bottom 10 cm of facets on any N facing aspects will round out very soon, which makes it a tricky persistent slab problem: the likelyhood of triggering anything is very, very low at this point but at some point someone won't be as lucky as anyone caught in a slide this year has been to just ski away. I don't like the probability personally.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Pictures below of point slides below rocks. These are East facing and the only ones I saw appeared to be directly below any rock outcroppings. I did notice some large roller balls while riding out at elevations below 9000' that could have knocked me off balance (I rode out around 2 in the afternoon).
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
As the snow is better on N facing higher elevations it would be good to note that this is still at a lower snowpack total than normal and often more rocky in the alpine areas of the Wasatch. Especially with the heat I think the slick bases on most of the BCC ridgeline will have water running at the base faster than normal...Bonkers area and anything with that weak interface will be suspect this year unless it turns cold and starts dumping snow.
Multiple roller balls below rocky terrain.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate