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Observation: Grizzly Gulch

Observation Date
12/3/2023
Observer Name
John Lemnotis
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Grizzly Gulch
Location Name or Route
Grizzly Gulch
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Steady S1 snow and light to moderate winds for most of the day.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
10"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Only commenting on the overnight snow. The most recent 10" was heavy and the overall storm snow is now upside down (more dense snow on top with lighter snow below). Breaking trail outside of established skinned tracks was arduous most of the time except where you were traveling on wind scoured terrain.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Most red flags are present. The most alarming being the poor snowpack structure. The storm snow sits on top of a well established persistant weak layer that formed on the old snow surface during the weeks without any new snow. Additionally collapsing was felt on every aspect we touched today, SW-W-NE. The snow pit we dug and have attached a link to below was on a WSW slope around 10k' failing below a facet/crust/facet combo. The failure plane was 1mm facets up 43cm from the ground as an ECTP 3 SP. Take a look at the avalanche encyclopedia for more info on terminology https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/#avalanche
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None
Coordinates