Observation: Neffs

Observation Date
3/12/2023
Observer Name
Nate L
Region
Salt Lake » Neffs
Location Name or Route
Neff's Canyon
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Rapid Warming
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Neff's was clearly hit hard by the rain in the past few days. There was a stout 1-2cm ice crust under 2-5cm of dense new snow up to 8,000', where I turned around. The new snow atop the ice crust was wet, heavy, and not well-bonded. I was able to initiate rollerballs and small wet slides on slopes <30d. While not concerning now given the shallow depth, I expect this to be more of a problem as more snow falls on top of this ice crust and eventually warms. If we get a decent amount of new snow today/tomorrow, Tuesday could have problematic wet slides. This ice layer could also provide a sliding interface for wet slabs next time we see substantial warmth at low elevation I dug a snowpit at 8,000' and found a snowpack that was mostly wet underneath the ice crust, although I couldn't squeeze water out of a snowball from any layer, so the snow is in the pendular regime/gaining strength. It seems like the snow under the ice crust has adjusted to the water content and isn't much of a risk anymore, especially if it refreezes. CT, ECT, and shovel shearing produced no results in this pit, to a depth of 150cm down.
Comments
Overcast from 0900-exit at 1300. Precip most of the day- rain below 7000', small wet snow crystals and large wet conglomerates of needles & stellars falling from 7-8k'. Precip rates up to S1+ observed. No wind at all at the bottom of Neff's, up to 8k'. Did not go into the wind zone to investigate wind slab danger or winds on ridgelines. Awful skinning conditions with snow glopping on skins every step- didn't have skin wax, but don't think it would've been enough. The dense new snow also sluffed off the ice crust easily, making sidehilling very difficult. Skiing conditions were surprisingly decent, as the ice crust is very supportable and the dense new snow provided floaty, surfy conditions. Generally, however, seems as though low-elevation touring will be in bad shape until we get a cold storm or an isothermal snowpack.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates