UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Observation: Mt Aire

Observation Date
2/13/2019
Observer Name
Staples, White, Ingle
Region
Salt Lake » Parleys Canyon » Mt Aire
Location Name or Route
Mt Aire
Snow Characteristics
Snow Characteristics Comments
Dense powder in sheltered trees. Otherwise strong south winds had ruined the skiing on any exposed slope which had a breakable layer of harder snow on top.
Snow Profile
Aspect
East
Elevation
7,800'
Slope Angle
33°
Comments
Overall great coverage. Near the parking lot for Lamb there is easily 2-3 feet of snow on the ground which is covering a lot of the brush
Any East facing or West facing open and exposed slope had been wrecked by South winds from Tues and Wed. Slopes at lower elevations with large trees were sheltered from the wind and had good dense powder. Photo below from near the summit of Mt Aire showing wind scouring from S winds.
We dug in three locations.
  1. East facing at 7500 feet - snow depth 115 cm
  2. NE facing at 8140 feet - snow depth 130 cm
  3. East facing at 7800 feet - snow depth 150 cm
We found some old facets near the ground, but these did not seem to be an issue (unless this area got feet and feet of snow)
We found small facets (rounding some) underneath the ice crust from the start of February. This was the weakest layer in the snowpack. It consistently produced ECTN. Learn more about the ECT in this video.
Also, this layer felt pretty strong when I would try to pry off the rest of the column. I also did several PST's on this layer. It would propagate to the end after a cut length of about 75 cm.
Photo below shows this layer. What you mostly see is the ice crust from Feb 1st/2nd. The soft facets are just below it.
The snow surface was very warm and I think the new snow should bond well. These facets will need a large load to be an issue. Otherwise they have a nice warm layer of snow on top to help them continue to strengthen.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates