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Observation: Uintas

Observation Date
1/18/2020
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Gold Hill
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
South
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Nice sunny day after a stretch of storms and high winds. Calm and quiet along the ridge lines with hardly a breeze.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Nice cold powder with a solid foot of new snow in the Gold Hill area. The riding and turning conditions were great with good coverage and fun surfy snow.
Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
No red flags observed in my travels as the winds have settled down finally and the snow pack starts to adjust to the recent snow and strong winds.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
I was not finding any wind drifts that were reactive to the weight of a person, only some minor cracking. I would think in bigger more exposed terrain there are some lingering wind slabs that could be triggered.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
The snow pack is starting to look pretty good with nearly 60" of snow on the ground where the pack is deep, but there are still those thin areas where recent storms and wind have stressed any weak layers. These would be places to avoid as seen in the recent avalanche activity this week.
Comments
Nice to finally have some good visibility and much lighter winds.
Moving around along the Gold Hill ridge line and testing a few wind drifts, these were pretty well settled out and only some very minor cracking.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates