Observation: East fork of Bear

Observation Date
2/12/2021
Observer Name
Staples & Davis
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » East fork of Bear
Location Name or Route
Double Hill to Moffit Pk to Gold Hill
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Strong
Weather Comments
White out conditions above 9800 feet. Snow falling most of the day, graupel mid-morning turning to stellars by afternoon. Only a few inches of accumulation. Strong west winds above treeline moving plenty of snow.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
You can check most of the red flags for the Uintas. We had no trouble getting collapsing and cracking. There had to be some slope angle for cracking.
Snow Profile
Aspect
West
Elevation
9,600'
Slope Angle
25°
Comments
Walking on foot tells me all I need to know - it's very difficult to simple walk the length of a sled BECAUSE there is a soft, cohesive slab that you have to step onto. It supports you weight for a second until your boot punches through to the ground. Crawling is the only way to stay on top. This tells me that there is a slab and a weak layer present. Wind loaded slope likely have a harder slab.
Below is a photo of the snowpit graphed above. Notice the weak layer (Nov/Dec snow) about 10 inches above the ground facets through the bottom half of the snowpack until the layer from mid/late January. Above those weak layers is the slab.
Photos below of cracking/collapsing we observed today.
Video
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
High
Coordinates