Observation: Gardner Fork

Observation Date
4/7/2023
Observer Name
Staples & Hoyt
Region
Uintas » Gardner Fork
Location Name or Route
Gardner Basin
Weather
Weather Comments
Sunny in the morning. Cloudy in the afternoon with increasing winds. Plenty warm.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Characteristics Comments
The snow took on a lot of heat in the Uintas today. Shaded snow at 7500' was still dry this morning. By this afternoon north facing snow up to about 9800 feet had become damp. South facing snow was crusted in the morning and softened by afternoon.
However - only the top inch or two of south facing snow was wet. Areas near rocks were warmer became wetter. Those were the only places we saw rollerballs. Afternoon winds cooled the snow and SE facing slopes started to refreeze on the surface.
Above about 10,000' on north facing, the snow remains dry and is great powder.
Comments
We found no instabiliites in north facing, non wind loaded terrain, and we confidently rode in avalanche terrain. On a SE facing slope at 10,400 feet above the middle fork of the Weber River, I did find an ice crust (maybe from mid-March) that had a thin layer of rouding facets on top. This layer produced an ECTP30. Doubtful it could produce a human triggered avalanche. Maybe we could see a few wet slab avalanches at some point in the Uintas, but I think they would be isolated and riding conditions would be horrible at that time.
First photo of the SE facing pit.
Second photo of one pit on a north facing slope where we found consistent good stability which matched the Low danger on those aspects today.
Third photo of runnels developing in the new snow (drainage channels) even at high elevations.
Coverage of course is unreal. Snow is pasted onto all the rocks. All the rocky faces should soak up a lot of heat this weekend and shed their snow. The snowpack around rock outcrops should get quite wet and produce loose wet avalanches.
Cornices will also start falling on their own. Don't hang out under them.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates