Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Mt. Watson

Observation Date
12/26/2020
Observer Name
Brackelsberg
Region
Uintas » Mt. Watson
Location Name or Route
Mt Watson
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
A beautiful morning. The clouds rolled in around 10 AM and light snow started about 1 PM.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
A variety of snow surfaces exist out there. In the sheltered areas, there is still soft snow. In wind-affected areas, the snow ranged from a breakable wind slab to a very dense, unpenetratable wind slab.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
We had significant cracking and collapsing. The snowpack would collapse every 100-200 M on all aspects. Below the crusts most of the snowpack was a mess of facets ranging from 1-2mm some crusts mixed in.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The mess of facets is the largest concern we saw today. We only traveled through relatively flat areas. Based on the poor snowpack and the cracking and collapsing we encountered, we did not feel it was safe to travel onto any slopes.
Assuming this storm doesn't amount to much new snow, I don't think the danger will increase much. If the storm over-delivers, the danger could rise.
Comments
We traveled around Mt Watson today to get a sense of what the snow was doing on various aspects. Overall, the snow is very thin on all aspects ranging from 50-75cm. The snowpack on all aspects was almost completely faceted and very weak.
  • Photo1 was an east aspect. We had a CT2 compression test result failing on facets just above the suncrust on 1mm facets
  • Photo 2 was a southwest aspect. When we went to isolate our ECT, we had failure and propagation (ECTPV) on facets below a sun crust.
  • Video: southwest aspect from Photo 2 and a north aspect at 10,500'
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates