Observation: Mill D North

Observation Date
1/24/2021
Observer Name
Manship, Collette, Wessler
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D North
Location Name or Route
Mill D North
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The PWL is in full force in the north facing areas around Mill D. We had widespread collapsing on these aspects as well as spider web cracking on slopes nearing 30 degrees.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northwest
Elevation
9,300'
Comments
Went for a nice long walk in the Mill D area. We noticed about 35cm of new snow and great riding conditions. We where sitting in a cloud most of the day with little to no wind. South facing slopes are still a bit bony underneath, but north facing slopes are nearing a meter of snow.
We dug a pit at 9300' on a NW, low angle slope. We still got propagation in the old facets within in the decomposing crust. Beneath the now snow is a variety of facets, there are some large depth hoar chains within the decomposing crust that where interesting to look at (photo below).
We had widespread collapsing on slopes with this weak layer. From what we saw there was not a very cohesive connected slab above the November slope. New snow was light and fluffy. We did note green housing and the top few cm's of new snow at lower elevations heated up a bit.
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable