Observation Date
12/27/2018
Observer Name
Mark Staples
Location Name or Route
Above Bountiful
Comments
Went to the Bountiful area to see if the snowpack mirrors the Cottonwood. Much of this area was bare ground prior to Thanksgiving. Dug in two places just above 8000 feet on NW and N aspects. A couple things to note:
- I suspect at higher elevations (>9k) there will be more facets at the ground. North faces on Grandview and Lookout certainly have them.
- A line of graupel from Dec 19/20 was an obvious line in the snowpack.
- Just under the graupel was another obvious stripe. It was a thin layer of facets formed in December. I found some surface hoar in one place with these facets. Despite the presence of these weak crystals, I don't anticipate them being a major problem. Now that they are buried they shouldn't get any weaker. ECT's on this layer were consistent ECTN (no propagation). Perhaps a cohesive slab of wind drifted snow could over load this layer and make an avalanche.
First pit photo and profile below is from a due north aspect at 8100 ft. There was only 8 cm of big facets at the ground. Being such a thin layer at the ground, this layer should be mostly interrupted by rocks, bushes, and other surface roughness. At 9000 feet, I suspect this layer is much thicker. It could be a problem with more loading or localized wind loading.
Not much terrain in this area is above 9k feet but there are some prominent North facing starting zones near Grandview and Lookout Peaks.
Next pit profile and image is a NW aspect at 8100 feet. It had no facets at the ground (it was bare ground before T-giving). It did have a layer of fx's and some surface hoar just under the graupel that fell around Dec 19/20.
I think this area overall mirrors the snowpack in the Cottonwoods. Pin shown on the map is the location of the first pit (Left Hand of Arthurs Fk).
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates