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Observation: Uintas

Observation Date
11/24/2019
Observer Name
Craig Gordon
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Wolf Creek Pass/Bowl
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Beautiful morning in the mountains with increasing clouds late in the day. Weather not effecting snow stability.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Faceted Loose
Snow Characteristics Comments
Very weak, loud surface snow. Widespread, large surface hoar on nearly all upper elevation slopes
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Most obvious weak layers are the fragile surface hoar and very weak snow near the ground. However, it's not a top-to-bottom weak sugary mess. Snowpack has some structure.... a heat crust forms a bit of midpack body that'll probably take some weight before failing.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Surface snow is super weak and should be very reactive to the incoming storms
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #2 Comments
Shallow pack with only 12-18" of total snow depth. Mid pack heat crust holding everything together. It'll get spooky with the upcoming storm pattern.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate