Observation: Scotties Bowl

Observation Date
2/15/2023
Observer Name
mfd
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Scotties Bowl
Location Name or Route
Scottieā€™s
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Problem #1 Comments
It was extremely windy this morning with quite a bit of cross-loading snow transport. Skinning up the 600ft we went, the skin track above the gully where it was convex was very wind scoured. There were obvious signs of wind loading in isolated pockets (we weren't anywhere near the ridgeline to see it more pervasive) and a wind crust at the snow surface.
Comments
We didn't end up traveling very far or high as we turned around due to weather and conditions, but despite only reaching max elevation of around 8200ft, the snow was very wind effected. After turning around to ski back down, I observed a crack that broke off into smaller slabs. The crack didn't propagate much where I was and the snow didn't slide due to location, but had this been in steeper and less isolated terrain, it would likely have been a real problem. For scale, this crack was ~5ft wide and moved ~3ft below where my ski went, wind slab maybe 3" thick. Good indication of the wind slab problem across elevations and degrees of tree shelter.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates