Observation Date
2/26/2022
Observer Name
L. Dunn
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mineral Fork
Location Name or Route
BCC>Mineral Fork>GB No
Weather
Sky
Clear
Weather Comments
A clear day, quite cold at the trailhead in the morning, but warmer up higher.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
8"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
The new snow this week has settled out to about 8-10" in Mineral Fork. It was more dense than might normally be expected for such cold conditions, but this provided body and flotation that made for good riding. At the 7-9.5k elevations of this tour there was little to no wind effect in the snow.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Red Flags Comments
There were some small sluffs/slides of dry loose snow on the steepest terrain coming off Santiago Ridge, but all of these slides had an inch or two of snow on them, so they must have occurred Thursday or Friday. Nothing was noted on our tour today, no cracking, no settlement, no sluffs, it was very quiet from a stability perspective. Hasty pits indicated all sorts of weak layers and a few crusts under our feet, but we saw no activity.
I want to thank the Powderbird guides we ecountered today for the consideration they showed us. They asked about our ski plans between our first and 2nd laps and although they did a lot of skiing in Mineral Fork today, they left the area we were skiing to us and some other backcountry parties.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
