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Observation: Big Cottonwood Canyon

Observation Date
1/11/2023
Observer Name
L. Dunn
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon
Location Name or Route
BCC>Mountain Mohagany
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
On and off snow showers through the day. Little or no wind except on the ridges where light to moderate west winds were observed.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
The snow was dense and somewhat inverted. The inversion problem seemed greatest below 8500' with less of an effect above that elevation. No one would confuse today's snow with the claim on our license plates, but it was still pretty good skiing.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
Two to three feet of snow with upwards of 4" SWE in the past 2.5 days and strong winds pretty much sums it up...oh yeah, and UDOT reported some natural avalanches overnight. But the reason I am submitting this report is that we were cutting loose some blocks of snow about 12" deep as we were skiing Mountain Mohagany today. These weren't sluffs....note the very smooth bed surface and the vertical crown in the attached photo. We triggered a few of these, some up to 15' wide. I'm guessing there is some sort of density inversion about a foot down in the snow we were skiing today. They didn't go far and they didn't knock us down, but they got our attention.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable