Observation: Brianhead Backcountry

Observation Date

1/9/2024

Observer Name

Ian Dempsey

Region

Southwest » Brian Head Backcountry

Location Name or Route

Brian Head Backcountry

Weather

Sky

Overcast

Wind Direction

North

Wind Speed

Moderate

Weather Comments

Temps low 20s at 10500'. Wind moderate from N and W increasing. Overcast with some blue sky 50+ miles to the west.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Density

Medium

Snow Surface Conditions

Powder

Snow Characteristics Comments

Powder conditions. Wind affected areas near the surface are more dense wind blown powder.

Red Flags

Cracking

Collapsing

Poor Snowpack Structure

Red Flags Comments

Cracking was noted during the duration of the ski tour. I experienced a few collapses, two of which were notable for their feeling of dropping and a loud (honestly a scary) "whoomph".

Avalanche Problem #1

Problem

Persistent Weak Layer

Trend

Increasing Danger

Problem #1 Comments

We've received 42" of new snow in the last week for a season total of about 75", and it's early January. The snow that fell before this week faceted like crazy and now we have an equivalent amount of new snow of the same density on top of it. The snowpack is reacting to this increased load and we are seeing cracking and collapsing as well as (what we would expect) planar fractures/failures in our snowpack stability tests (CT8, SC and ECTP16). I anticipate the avalanche danger will increase to high in the next day or 2 as the wind continues to pick up and our significant amount of transportable snow loads our PWL.

Snow Profile

Aspect

North

Elevation

10,700'

Slope Angle

27°