Observation Date
1/9/2022
Observer Name
Paradis / Brackelsberg
Region
Uintas » Weber Canyon
Location Name or Route
Weber Canyon
Weather
Sky
Clear
Weather Comments
Oddly calm and reasonably warm for the Uintas. No wind along ridges. Cool air was sinking so it seemed warm at the top of the run than the bottom. This did create some outflow winds at the bottom of drainages.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Light snow over a supportable to firm base, depending on prior winds. Some west facing slopes still had exposed rocks but coverage was good otherwise.
In some years, snow is thin/rocky and plentiful facets make for trap door ski conditions so this seemed pretty good.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Red flags were largely not obvious today. We may have felt 1 collapse but not certain.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
It's now covered by quite a bit of firm dense, supportable snow so could be difficult to trigger but maybe not out of the woods yet, so to speak. We had about 120 cms above the which is still a
common depth for avalanches in the Uintas. These can be difficult conditions since many slopes can be ridden without anything bad happening.
Snow Profile
Aspect
East
Elevation
9,800'
Slope Angle
15°
Comments
This was a quick pit just to check snow depth and facets on an east facing slope.
This pit demonstrates what we could feel under our feet - good supportable skiing. Both pits also show a good bit of relatively dense (~1F) snow over facets, which makes for low probability, high consequence conditions.
Although we recorded stability tests in this pit, they can be somewhat difficult to interpret in that it can be difficult to represent collapsing a slab of this strength and depth.
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
