Observation Date
5/4/2020
Observer Name
B
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton Perimeter » Snake Creek Pass
Location Name or Route
Snake Creek Canyon
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
North
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Clear skies early am with a few clouds filtering in around 0900. Moderate Northerly Winds from 9300 up to the ridges with the limited amounts of new snow being blown around. Temperatures moderated today and only got up into the low 40's at 9000.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
1"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
HN Silverfork: Trace; HN Brighton Base: 1cm; HN Upper Elevation: 2.5 cm; Minimal refreeze despite temps dropping overnight. Overnight cloud cover, rising RH, and the new snow combined to not allow the snowpack to vent and significantly refreeze. Steep North facing terrain above 9500 had a thin refreeze and was barely supportable. All aspects had 30 tp 38 cm of large consolidated wet grains. As a result, the supportable/acceptable corn like snow was short lived. The new snow didn't help the riding and it got mushy quickly once the sun was on it.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Rapid Warming
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Besides a few areas that had small Cornice Collapses during last weeks above normal temps, there was minimal significant avalanche activity observed in the Snake Creed drainage. Collapsing during the thawing process that was Widespread last week, has now settled out. Despite this fact, the previously cited wet grains need to freeze up, and fortunately the forecast for this week looks promising. Overnight lows and clear skies look good for solidifying the snow pack. By Wednesday things should be locked up in the upper layers that were still wet today.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Exiting at 1230 was early for observing any wet activity, yet there were areas already with ski pen of over 30 cm of isothermal layers that were totally unsupportable. And this was at upper elevations on steep south facing terrain.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Cornice
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
Many of the Cornices have shrunk considerably, yet there are still some large overhanging ones out there that require caution.
Just a quick comment on "Corn Etiquette". The ski season is winding down, but we potentially have some very good riding possibilities left. If you find yourself riding slopes and leaving deep ruts (see Photo 1), this damage may not heal. As a result these slopes will be scarred and not that much fun to ride. If you ride slopes, and only carve in an inch or less, the sun and temperatures will melt down those tracks and keep the riding surfaces as smooth and fun as possible, (See Photo 2).
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low
Coordinates
