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Observation: Provo

Observation Date
3/3/2023
Observer Name
Graves, Torrey, Davis, Hardesty, Wilson
Region
Provo
Location Name or Route
South Fork
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
The weather was snowier and windier than we thought it would be throughout the day. Most of the day was overcast with periods of broken skies. Winds were generally out of the SSW with occasional strong gusts.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
3"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Wind Loading
Cracking
Red Flags Comments
North and northeast slopes below exposed ridgelines were wind loaded. We observed cracking in these areas and obvious signs of wind loading. We intentionally triggered a wind slab on a N facing slope at 8250' just below a ridgeline. It was about 300' wide and ranged from 6"-12" deep.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Problem #1 Comments
Shallow soft slabs of wind-drifted snow were found on N and NE slopes below exposed ridgelines. These areas were actively loading on our travels up the ridge. We ended up dropping into ski much lower than we had planned due to strong gusts and active wind loading.
Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
8,500'
Slope Angle
27°
Comments
We dug two snow pits in the top 1.2m of the snowpack in sheltered areas. We were hunting for weak interfaces within the top few feet of the snow to determine if new snow and wind slab avalanches were the only two avalanche problems we should be concerned with on the slopes we wanted to ski. We didn't find any weak layers in our pits. We found a few inches of new snow sitting on top of an right side up snowpack.
On the W aspects we found ourselves on today, we found a thin crust in wind sheltered areas and heavy wind stripping on the W facing ridgeline we traveled up. We only traveled in low and mid-elevation terrain today.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None