Observation: Bald Mountain

Observation Date
12/8/2021
Observer Name
jg
Region
Uintas » Bald Mountain
Location Name or Route
Bald/Reid
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Clear and sunny in the morning with the first of the front moving in in the early afternoon. Moderate winds from the SW were moving what little snow there is available for transport. Occasional strong gusts. Overcast skies and low cloud ceiling by mid afternoon. Temps in low 20's at 10K.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Mixed bag of snow conditions. Thin pack but generally supprtable where we traveled.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Cracking
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Normal Caution
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Increasing danger as we get more snow and wind in the next couple of days.
Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
10,600'
Slope Angle
23°
Comments
I went up the Mirror Lake Highway for a quick look at the snow before the storm. South facing slopes are devoid of snow, even at the highest elevations. East and west facing slopes are very thin with north facing slopes holding 50cm-90+cm (19"-36") of snow.
My pit was in a cross loaded gully feature and is probably not representative of all north facing slopes in the area. The pit was mostly 1F in hardness with the weak layer being faceted grains about 13" down. Overall a strong pack where I dug. I would imagine that north facing slopes out of the wind are not as strong and cohesive. Column Tests failed with medium to hard effort and my Extended Column Test did not propagate a fracture across the column.
We could find stubborn, shallow wind slabs in wind loaded terrain.
Even with the forecasted foot of new snow, there aren't going to be many places to ride or ski. It's low tide in the Uintas.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate