Observation Date
12/24/2022
Observer Name
Staples
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Red Pine Gulch » Pink Pine
Location Name or Route
Pink Pine
Comments
Went for a quick afternoon lap. Dug in two low elevation locations. Overall the snow depths and coverage are pretty amazing. Even though the snow surface at these elevations was damp, just a little bit of new snow will make the riding really good again.
The PWL is easy to find in all places. It is capped by Pencil hard snow with an layer of dust in it from the Nov 30/Dec 1 south wind event. There are several dirty layers below the PWL.
1) 7,800 ft, NW facing, PWL is 4F- hardness, ECTX but it propagated across on 1 super hard hit after the standard 30 taps. Snow depth about 4 ft.
2) 8400 ft, NE facing, PWL is 4F hardness, ECTX but propagated after 4 super hard hits after the standard 30 taps. Snow depth 4-5 feet. PWL 20 inches above the ground.
What does all of this mean?
- Conditions have changed a lot from a week and a half ago (Dec 13) when a skier was injured in an avalanche near here. It's also only been a week and a half.
- After digging two pits in the area and getting consistent results, I felt comfortable skiing a 35 degree slope.
- If I went to another slope in this area, I would dig again several times to investigate the PWL. I'm willing to trust it, if I do several ECTs that don't propagate after 30 taps, and if I see that the PWL has some increase in hand hardness (ie not fist hardness).
- Looking ahead, if the mountains get walloped by snow next week, this PWL could be sensitive in the short term, but will be healed in the long term. I'm optimistic.
- If we don't get a lot of snow, it could also become dormant. I think it would take a decent sized storm to awaken it. Like several inches of water.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates