Observation: Uintas

Observation Date
3/1/2020
Observer Name
jg
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Upper Weber Canyon
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
South
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Storm day. Moderate southerly winds to start the day shifting to the NW and then N by the time we left. Wind speeds toned down a bit with the frontal passage but the winds were still moving snow. Heaviest snow was with the prefrontal southerly winds. Temps in the low 20's and high teens at 10K+.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Same
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Same
Comments
The biggest concern today was the new snow. The storm snow wasn't bonding well with the old snow surface and loose snow avalanches were easy to initiate in steep terrain. While they were manageable, if you weren't paying attention, you could have easily been caught off guard and had your skis knocked out from underneath you. Dug a lot in the snow and was finding a lot of variability and generally poor snowpack structure but wasn't getting alarming results from pit tests. Other than the new snow instabilities, pit tests were unreactive or failing with hard effort. One common theme was weak snow and failures in tests under the rime crust when it was found where we were digging. The weakest and most reactive interfaces were in the upper 60 cm's (2 feet) of the snowpack. I'd call tomorrow's danger moderate for loose, new snow avalanches and soft, shallow wind slabs on most aspects in steeper terrain.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate