Observation: Ivory Flakes

Observation Date
2/16/2019
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Fork » Ivory Flakes
Location Name or Route
Ivory Flakes
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Cold and cloudy with some intermittent breaks of sun, moderate winds out of the west, moving the light density snow.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
10"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
There seemed to be around 10 inches of light density snow from last night resting on a spongy graupel base, which allowed for fun and fast turns even on lower angle slopes.
Comments
Headed up to Ivory Flakes from the BCC side today. Snow amounts increased dramatically with elevation, and the rain crust from earlier in the week disappeared at about 8300ft. Most of the activity noted today was sluffing of the new light density snow, either natural or skier triggered. We did witness one avalanche that was skier triggered in Cardiac Bowl which took out an oddly place skin track in the center of the Bowl, but petered our before it traveled very far. The biggest sluffs or shallow soft slabs noted today were naturals on Cardiac Ridge. I would think the sluffing will decrease with the settlement of the new snow.
Photos: natural sluffs on the Ivory Rock Slabs old and new, large natural sluff on Cardiac Ridge, and the skier triggered slide in Cardiac Bowl
Thinking moderate tomorrow if the wind doesn’t pick up
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate