Observation: Cardiff Pass

Observation Date
3/19/2019
Observer Name
evelyn
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Pass
Location Name or Route
Cardiff Pass
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Speed
Calm
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Faceted Loose
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Sunny slopes were frozen, softening or damp and punchy. Lots of old tracks. It's "pseudo" corn, so timing's a bit difficult, but there are some decent turns on smooth slopes it you catch the softening just right. North has a shallow layer of faceted loose snow.
Comments
Upper elevation, northerly facing slopes have 5 to 10 cm of weak, loose facets on the surface, which are producing small skier triggered sluffs on steep slopes. Looking at the forecast through Thursday, with only a few inches of new snow, I'd expect no real change in the avalanches or avalanche danger. Just slightly larger sluffs. The near surface facets might be a more significant weak layer by Friday or Saturday if the snow starts to add up.
Weak faceted surface is visually obvious, first picture, and feels loose, dry and weak.
Second photo - when zoomed in, I could see some angles, corners and striations, indications of faceting.
Below, a distance photo of a previously noted glide crack, Cardiac Ridge. A good heads up that it's spring, and glide cracks will become active over the next few weeks, many in the usual places of Broads Fork, Stairs, Raymond Slabs, etc.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low