AVALANCHE WARNING!! Tap for info
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Smith-Moorehouse

Observation Date
3/9/2022
Observer Name
Staples & Deutschlander
Region
Uintas » Smith-Moorehouse
Location Name or Route
Smith-Moorehouse
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Weather Comments
It snowed most of the day and there was about 2-3 inches of snow on our tracks from the morning. There were periods of intense snowfall (high PI) that likely caused some natural avalanche activity.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12'
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
At least 12 inches of new snow overnight. Over the head powder riding (photo below) when combined with nearly a foot of snow from the previous storm.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Winds were transporting snow in exposed areas but not where we were. It's sublte to notice the collapsing, but as were were riding, we'd see a small sapling or tree branch shake a little bit and drop it's snow as we collapsed the weak layer on many slopes.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The PWL of facets formed during the Jan/Feb dry period are overloaded and unstable now.
Comments
We commented that the difference between life/death or triggering an avalanche or not is just a matter of degrees. Any slope steeper than 30 degrees would produce an avalanche and we didn't dare touch any of them. We saw the following slides:
3) Many very small avalanches we triggered near steep slopes along creeks/gullies
Below is a photo of the setup we're dealing with. On any northerly facing slope and ones that kept soft snow during the mid-winter drought, has a layer of VERY weak facets. This layer is consistently producing very poor stability test results (extended column tests that break with minimal force and propagate across the entire column).
There's simply a TON of new snow and conditions are dangerous. We didn't go near any deeper gully or any big steep slope. Everything we saw today mirrored what I found yesterday except that there's a lot more snow making conditions more dangerous.
I worry about this weekend - conditions won't be as sensitive and the riding will be 5 star; HOWEVER, I think it will remain dangerous and very easy to trigger avalanches.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
High
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
High
Coordinates