Observation Date
2/22/2020
Observer Name
Derek DeBruin
Region
Ogden » Ben Lomond » Cutler Ridge
Location Name or Route
Ben Lomond, Cutler Ridge
Weather
Weather Comments
Weather forecast verified today: morning inversion with single digit temps but quite warm by midday, little wind, sunny with clear skies but clouds increasing throughout the day.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Surface conditions are a pretty mixed bag and generally trending toward less great riding as we get increasingly distant from the last snowfall.
Light surface wind skin to full-on wind blown and mottled in specific exposed locations, with the occasional bare patch of bullet hard icy February 7 crust. Surface melt freeze crust in sun exposed locations in the morning that disappeared as temperatures rose throughout the day. Damp snow in most locations by late afternoon, with some mashed potatoes in the lower elevations. Steep skinning was challenging at times stepping through the surface snow onto the February 7 crust. Still a bit of dense loose to be found with local beta, good powder hunting skills, and a bit of luck, but it was hard to come by.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Rapid Warming
Red Flags Comments
Red flag today was diurnal heating. A number of D1-D2 loose wet point releases from rocks on the steep southerlies of Island Peak and Willard Peak. Some of these picked up enough snow to run a few hundred feet and release shallow wet slabs.
Comments
View of the clouds trying to make their way eastward over the Chilly Peak ridgeline and shoulder of Ben Lomond.
We witnessed 5 snowmobilers today drop into the Cutler headwall from Willard Peak and proceed to ride through and high mark the headwall from Willard to Ben Lomond. For those unaware, snowmobiles and other winter motorized traffic are NOT permitted anywhere along the Ogden skyline (Willard, Ben Lomond, Lewis, or Mount Ogden). If you are a part of or have friends in the sledding community, please help educate folks to this effect.
See this map from the USFS for permitted areas:
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
