Observation Date
1/1/2022
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Boundary Creek
Location Name or Route
Boundary Creek
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Real cold start to the day with below zero temps not warming up all that much, but the sunshine helped take a little of the bite out. There was a slight northwest breeze to keep the wind chill in the negative territory.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Nothing but great cold powder snow today in my travels. I did not visit much high elevation wind exposed terrain, but where I traveled there was some minor wind pillows, but no cracking.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
I kept the day pretty mellow staying in slightly lower elevation terrain and still experienced a couple noteworthy collapses. The area had received about two feet of new snow with strong winds the last several days and the snow pack structure in this area is a red flag. Well developed weak faceted snow near the bottom of the snow pack with a thick slab of snow on top. I did not observe any recent avalanche activity in this area.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Thought it would be good to visit a location where the snow pack tends to be a little shallow and see how this area did with the storm. There is about 50" of total snow which is great for this place, however the snow pack structure right now is a red flag with early season weak faceted snow near the bottom and a thick slab of snow on top of it. I was able to get a column of snow to fracture with just 15 taps form the elbow, failing at the weak sugary snow interface.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Normal Caution
Trend
Same
Snow Profile Comments
This area around the East Fork of the Bear River normally is quite thin and rough, but the series of storms have really filled in a lot of the terrain and should have good snow coverage this season. I was able to find great low angle riding and turning today.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates
