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Observation: Bear Trap

Observation Date
3/8/2022
Observer Name
Bo Torrey
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Bear Trap
Location Name or Route
Beartrap Fork
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Light snowfall in the morning with periods of moderate snowfall. Variable wind directions were predominately drifting snow onto east and south aspects.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Targeted west-facing slopes today. Found 20-30cm of storm snow sitting above a 1-2cm melt-freeze crust. Below the crust is a 10 cm layer of 1F-hard settled snow from the small storms in late February. All of this sit above the Jan/Feb drought layer of 1-2mm facets.
We did not experience signs of instability such as collapsing or note any recent avalanches. We did experience minor cracking on small wind-drifted features but no obvious signs that would suggest a persistent slab problem. Shovel tilt tests indicated 3 distinct failure planes within the new snow with only a few light taps. The layers within the new snow did not propagate during extended column tests (ECT) however, during our ECT test we did have a propagating result fail on the Jan/Feb drought layer 45cm below the surface on 2mm facets.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates