Scott Stack

Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » USA Bowl

USA Bowl

Very light, dry 4-5” of snow fell overnight (more than what the Utavy reported) with temps in the low teens at the PC ridgeline. Wind was calm until I neared ridgeline and light on the ridge. Snow had drifted off the windward southwest slope onto the northerly slopes. I would be cautious of wind slabs and new snow drifts on lee slopes but this should be easy to recognize and avoid. The southerly slope was wind scoured at the top revealing a thick ice crust which was not punchable with a ski pole but breakable with my boot. Uphill travel was difficult due to the light snow sloughing off of a thick supportable crust underneath. I chose USA bowl because it is low angle and still had a hard time traveling uphill. The skiing was good ol dust on crust. I’d be very cautious of travelling on steeper slopes in or near high consequence terrain and would expect on steeper terrain to see a higher probability of a storm slab breaking loose. I would expect similar conditions on other aspects that have been affected by sun.

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