Observation: Monitors

Observation Date
2/15/2019
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline » Monitors
Location Name or Route
PC Ridgeline
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Strong
Weather Comments
Warm with strong S-SW winds blowing on the ridge line and down in the drainages
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
5"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments
Seems like all aspects were covered with 5 inches of graupel, and the south facing in the terrain covered never got damp, but down at lower elevations it was getting damp and I did note one wet slide that was partially on the road mid canyon on the way down.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Comments
Travel was up Willow Heights to the Monitors. Headed to South Monitor first in my opinion the less hazardous one at this point in time. Skied into the top of it and looked at the snow, it was right side up and the left hand corner I was skiing was not getting the wind load as much as the rest of the bowl, proceeded to ski it to the bottom on the hike out I realized there was a avalanche in West Monitor. I went to look at the slide, apparently some one had triggered the wind slab by dropping a cornice, in my opinion a good stability test for wind slabs, the slide was about 250ft wide ran 700ft to the flats and had a 2ft crown at the deepest point. I think the person who triggered it will probably put it on the avy page. Ended up staying in S Monitor the rest of the day, every time I returned for another run the wind had erased my previous track and it was a clean slate once again, probably some of the best wind buff I’ve skied in the BC in a long time. By the time I did my last run the wind buff was becoming more of a wind slab, getting stiffer as the day went on. On my way down canyon I noted a wet slide mid canyon that was in encroaching on the road.
Photos: the West Monitor slide, wet slide mid canyon and wind blasting the ridge line, and a video showing the whole W Monitor slide
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable