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Observation: Funnel

Observation Date
1/30/2024
Observer Name
Garcia
Region
Moab » Laurel Highway » Funnel
Location Name or Route
Laurel Highway, Upper Funnel, Goldminer's
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Another glorious day in the mountains. Calm winds and not a cloud to be seen.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Surface hoar formation observed mostly in low elevation, low angle terrain. Some small grained surface hoar was observed at my pit site on a West face at 11,200 ft. SH was isolated on steeper slopes. The skiing is still really good on the shady slopes in soft, settled powder. We found slushy, spring-like conditions on the solars today. Last night the winds bumped up just enough to move snow around on the most open, exposed slopes. ENE winds overnight blew in the low to mid teens mph and I noticed wind transport on exposed slopes like Middle Cirque and Red Snow Cirque. Look closely at the photo and you'll see what I mean. There are some tracks in Red Snow Cirque from Monday that got covered up by last night's light snow transport.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Broken record here - poor snowpack structure remains. BUT, today's pit on a West face NTL showed some of the stronger snow I have seen in a while.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Another day without experiencing any collapsing. A week ago I dug on a West face at 9,900 ft. and found some of the weakest snow in the range (HS 80cm). Today I dug on a West face at 11,230 ft. and found stronger snow than I have been observing in other pits over the past couple weeks. HS is 111cm, and the snow profile shows a dense slab over the weak layer making it harder to affect. Notice that the weak layer has gained some hardness. The upper part of the weak layer is now 4F, while the bottom is F+. Test scores were ECTX and CTN. It's nice to see test scores like this, but I would like to see much more snow on top of this weak layer before we are out of the woods.
Comments
Thanks to Alex Mudler for helping me dig a snowpit today! Here's Alex enjoying some slushy spring-like conditions on a South facing slope.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates