UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Observation: White Baldy

Observation Date
3/12/2019
Observer Name
mark white
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Red Pine » White Baldy
Location Name or Route
White Baldy
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Let’s see, sunny for a minute in the morning, increasing clouds and wind speeds from the SW by noon, completely socked in white out by the time I reached the top of White Baldy at 1:30pm, go figure.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Powder was found on shady mid elevation N, also on NE, N and NW in the high alpine, with some wind crust thrown in. Melt freeze crust on all W, E, and S with an especially nasty breakable crust on W. Damp on all aspects below 8700ft on our exit at 3:30pm
Comments
Wanted to get on top of White Baldy before the next storm rolled in, I was thinking it was gonna be a good day for the high alpine but the weather wasn’t on the same page, with a dropping cloud deck and increasing SW winds. Yesterday seemed to be the day for wet activity on W facing in upper Red Pine with some fairly large wet slides, today the lack of sun and breezy conditions kept it locked up and crusty. There was some fairly wide spread wet activity below 8700ft on all aspects with sticky suction cup snow on our exit. I did not encounter any wind slabs while breaking trail up White Baldy which had avalanched wall to wall during last weeks storm.
Photos: wet activity on W facing in Red Pine from yesterday, and across the street, and the results of some trap door breakable crust on my partner who rarely falls
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate