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Observation: Days Draw

Observation Date
1/13/2020
Observer Name
L. Dunn
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Days Draw
Location Name or Route
Days Fork, Spruces>CSR and Days Draw
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
On our tour from Spruces to CSR and Days Draw we had moderate snow in the morning with some blue sky in mid-afternoon. Winds were generally light except above 9500' where gusts seem to swirl and come from every direction. But there wasn't enough consistent wind, even at the ridge (10,100') to produce much snow transport or wind effect.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
7"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
It seemed like overnight Sunday into Monday morning about 2" of new snow fell in mid Days Fork, with another 3-5" falling through the morning into mid afternoon when the snow tapered off and the sun poked through. So, about another 7" on top of the multiple feet of new snow from the weekend. Compared to the snow I saw yesterday in upper Porter Fork, the snow in Days Fork was deeper. It didn't seem wind effected, but the snow skied slower and although it was often in your face, the faster skiing conditions yesterday were better than today. The exception was when you skied over very steep convex terrain today, it was remarkable. Overall, I think the best riding might be in places out of the wind that didn't get quite as much snow in the past 5 days.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Red Flags Comments
Despite the abundant snowfall since last Wednesday, we saw very few signs of instability today. As noted above, there wasn't obvious wind transport even at 10k where we were, and there just isn't anything resembling a slab in the new snow. We didn't get much in the way of sluffs to go, even on steep rollovers. It seems like if you're out of the wind effected areas, the hazard is moderate at best. The greatest threat to safety today was if you fell, it was full on pig wallow to get back up, and it was a little unnerving.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None