UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Observation: White Baldy

Observation Date
3/29/2018
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Red Pine Gulch » White Baldy
Location Name or Route
White Baldy
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Scattered broken clouds all day with a chilly breeze out of the NW, didn't get overly hot.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

Most of the high alpine in upper Red Pine is wind hammered except luckily for the due N facing on White Baldy, which had a 3 inch layer of medium density powder sitting on a firm but edgeable base. All aspects except high north either have wind crust or a melt-freeze crust, that also goes for N facing below 10,000ft, all aspects got damp below 9000ft.

Comments

I knew nothing but high elevation N facing would have soft settled powder remaining so I went to White Baldy which is around 11,000ft due N and somewhat protected from NW winds unlike its brother in the next drainage Red Baldy. I felt lucky with what I got because the rest of the upper alpine was a mess from Tuesday nights and Wednesdays wind event. The NW winds and the clouds kept heating to a minimal in the high alpine with no softening of the melt-freeze crust noted, slide for life conditions on steep E,W and S, whippets and crampons suggested for travel in steep terrain. The amount of wet activity since our last storm has been minimal mostly due too not much new snow and most of the major wet activity taking place during the rain event last week. I was thinking about shallow wind slabs when I was booting up the top of White Baldy but they had not formed on the due N.

Photos: wind textured, but not slabbed up snow on the top of White Baldy, dust on a firm bed surface on the due north.

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