Observation Date
12/20/2018
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Gold Hill
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Mild weather today with light ridge top winds and some high clouds.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Yesterday's 1-2" of new snow with a fair amount of grauple mixed in smoothed the conditions in places, but much of the terrain has frozen hard tracks. Lets hope the upcoming storms will improve the riding and turning.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Just a few very isolated lingering wind drifts that would still crack, but they were quite stubborn to move. These were just off the ridge lines. The snow pack structure is still a red flag, but generally things are quite relaxed and not reactive with stability tests.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The snow pack appears to be fairly relaxed for the time being, but with a change in weather approaching, the weak sugary snow near the ground could come back to life.
Comments
The snow pack in the Gold Hill area is a little less consolidated than other areas and might be a place where a load of new snow would see avalanche activity. The layer of sugary faceted snow sitting on top of the early season crust is still dry and large in size.
A few isolated wind drifts would still crack, but they were quite stubborn to move.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates
