Observation Date
1/5/2023
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Boundary Creek
Location Name or Route
Boundary Creek
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Partly cloudy this morning with some brief gusty south winds around the trailhead. Mostly cloudy as the day went on and there was a quick period of graupel as a front was moving in. The temperatures stayed fairly mild and did not affect the snow quality.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
5"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Great soft snow conditions with a few new inches from the last couple days and some developing stiff wind drifted snow along the windy ridge lines. Overall really nice snow quality and excellent snow coverage even for this generally thin snow zone.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
You can find the early season weak sugary layer in a snow pit, but I was encouraged how deep it is buried for this area and did not get real clean snow pit results. I would not be ready to jump into some steep terrain without digging around some more and look for thinner locations where the overlying slab is not as deep. The pre frontal winds were on the increase today and I observed the high peaks with blowing snow.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
I was expecting to find a thinner snow pack which is usually the case for the Boundary Creek Drainage, but the coverage is quite good and the buried weak layer was not propagating a fracture where I dug. I would want to spend more time digging around the area before I felt comfortable with the snow pack.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
The south winds were on the increase today and small shallow wind drifts were developing along exposed ridges.
Comments
This is an amazing snow pack for this area with nearly 50" of snow at this location and the weak early season sugary layer is marked with the saw. I was not able to get this weak layer to propagate a crack in this snow pit, but I would want to dig some more pits before feeling comfortable in this area.
I think it has been awhile since this area has had such good snow cover. Normally there are lots of dead and down trees to move around and the skiing can be a little limited.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates
