Observation: Soapstone

Observation Date

1/19/2021

Observer Name

Region

Uintas » Soapstone

Location Name or Route

Soapstone

Weather

Sky

Clear

Wind Direction

East

Wind Speed

Moderate

Weather Comments

East winds actively moving snow. Winds calmed as the day went on. Cold temps kept the snow surface soft.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth

New Snow Density

Low

Snow Surface Conditions

Powder

Wind Crust

Snow Characteristics Comments

With the strong winds associated with the storm it was a little hard to say how much new snow there was but we were consistently finding 2"- 4" of low density snow on NW aspects.

Red Flags

Wind Loading

Cracking

Poor Snowpack Structure

Avalanche Problem #1

Problem

Wind Drifted Snow

Trend

Decreasing Danger

Problem #1 Comments

New wind slabs created by the easterly winds were the main concern today.

Avalanche Problem #2

Problem

Persistent Weak Layer

Trend

Same

Problem #2 Comments

Nothing new in this department. My pit tests today showed two persistent weak layers that failed with medium effort and propagated a fracture across the column. ECTP15 @ 33cms down (13") on 1mm rounding facets. ECTP18 @ 87cms down (34") on 2mm+ facets. While I think it would be possible to trigger an avalanche on these layers, the snowpack seems to have adjusted to the weight of the slab making the danger more moderate. I'm still leary of slopes 30° and steeper. Just waiting for more of a load to awaken the persistent weaknesses in the snowpack.

Snow Profile

Aspect

Northwest

Elevation

9,500'

Slope Angle

20°