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Observation: Bountiful

Observation Date
1/9/2020
Observer Name
Staples, Davis
Location Name or Route
Bountiful and south towards Grandview
Snow Characteristics
Snow Characteristics Comments
About 9 inches of new snow. Except for the first 100 yards, the entire road is snow covered.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
No red flags except a thin layer of facets under the New Year's Storm that produced an ECTP in every pit we dug on all aspects.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Problem #1 Comments
We found a soft slab on top of a persistent weak layer in all of our snowpits. This layer was buried about 19 inches deep. We dug in maybe 6 - 8 places on all aspects. Elevations were between 8000 and 9000 feet.
Comments
I was SHOCKED to get consistent ECTP results - this is an extended column test that propagates a crack across the column. Scores ranged from as light as 5 to a moderate score of 16. Regardless of the scores, getting a fracture across the entire column is an unstable result.
We have only seen this issue on southerly facing slopes in the Cottonwood Canyons area; HOWEVER, in the Bountiful area, we found it on all aspects. This layer won't exist on isolated slopes that have had heavy snowmobile traffic but these are only very specific spots.
I'm very concerned that this layer could start producing avalanches when more snow arrives. Potentially heavy snow over the weekend will add more stress to this layer and make it more unstable.
I am also concerned that it could be an issue in other areas. I found it Wednesday on a North Facing slope along North Ogden Divide. Drew found it Wednesday in Big Cottonwood Canyon. A regular observer found this layer in the Uintas on Thursday as well and had mixed results.
Also, we did not observe any other signs of instability other than these poor test scores. I'm a little confused as to why we found this in the Bountiful area (Sessions). Is this area different from other places? Or, was what we saw today a warning that the problem may exist in other places?
Video
Weather was in and out. Mostly cloudy all day but some clearing this afternoon at around 3. First photo - classic view crossing under the powerlines.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates