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Observation: Mill D North

Observation Date
1/25/2024
Observer Name
Kelly, Miller
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D North
Location Name or Route
Little Water
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Mixed Snow-Rain
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
In the cloud it was freezing rain and as the day went on wind speeds increased and more rimed snow was falling. The freezing rain mixture was sticking to our jackets and very rime like ( frozen fog) up to 9605'
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
1"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Melt-Freeze Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
North facing slopes were soft powder travel, south out of the trees was a supportable melt-freeze crust and below the tree-line southerly aspects were more breakable. West facing was shallower snowpack with some breakable and some soft turns depending on tree coverage.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Continued to find poor snowpack structure where we dug on west and north aspects. South aspects had dry facets under a melt-freeze crust (south and west had very little slab over weak snow, still very shallow)
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
9,200'
Slope Angle
25°
Comments
Photo of intact buried surface hoar 28" (73cm) from the ground. This isn't something we often see buried and preserved in the Central Wasatch so it is kind of cool to have it reactive in a snowpack. I would guess that it isn't widespread or found in areas that were more wind/storm affected prior to the newest snow.
Snowpit on a west facing aspect at 9300' elevation. Height of snow was 15" (40cm) and the weak layer was 8" (20cm) off the ground. ECTN18@20cm (no propagation). No slab over the weak layer, no connectivity on this slope. I would be more wary of locations that have a more connected thin snowpack with poor structure.
Above photo of dry facets under a melt freeze crust on a west facing slope at 9300'
Where we traveled today on terrain less than 30 ° slope angles we found LOW to MODERATE avalanche hazard. The structure is still poor in many locations. However we did not see or hear any collapsing or cracking in the snowpack. We observed no wind-loading and the storm did not really produce as forecasted. The snowpack structure is still poor and any additional weight may tip the scales in steeper terrain and because of this we chose to stick to lower angle slopes. The structure in steeper areas still shows weak dry facets underneath the newest snow and stability tests show that this layer is less responsive with stability tests. It's a long season and I am going to continue to give this layer more time to heal before venturing into steeper terrain.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None
Coordinates