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Observation: Alta Ski Area

Observation Date
10/24/2021
Observer Name
Meisenheimer / Morgan
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Alta Ski Area
Location Name or Route
Alta - Collins Gulch to Glory Hole
Weather
Sky
Scattered
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Warm and windy. By the time we left the mountain at 1:00 pm, it was close to rain below about 9,000'.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
4"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Rain-Rime Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Yesterday afternoon, Alta Collins Study Plot reported 4.0" of new snow with 0.41" of water at 4:00 pm. Adding up the snow as of 5:30 pm this evening, our storm total is 5.0" of new snow with 0.58" of water since Saturday morning. This is hardly impressive as a much larger storm system is on our doorstep.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Rapid Warming
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Problem #1 Comments
Basically every aspect except due north above about 9,200' in elevation got wet today. If the slopes were steep enough, you could see roller-balls that naturally cascaded down. They were pretty harmless as they didn't entrain a lot of snow on the way down.
This could all change tomorrow as we could have a rain-on-snow event depending on the temperatures with this storm tomorrow into Tuesday. As always, rain on dry snow is never good, and I would be cautious tomorrow in steep, sustained terrain if we get rain or if the temperatures remain above freezing.
See picture 1 below: This avalanche was reported to me at 5:45 pm from the Alta Avalanche Office. It's an excellent example of wet snow in steep terrain. This avalanche was large enough to bury a person.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northwest
Elevation
9,900'
Slope Angle
25°
Looking down a northerly facing slope at 10,000' in elevation this afternoon. Notice the roller-balls. We decided not to ski the mank. Gross
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates