Join us at our 2nd Annual Blizzard Ball
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Class List UAC Class List Online Classes Resources and Tutorials Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Willows

Observation Date
12/30/2024
Observer Name
John Lemnotis
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Willows
Location Name or Route
Willows
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Weather Comments
Winds were calm to moderate today from multiple directions but primarily NW. Not much visible snow transport taking place in the areas that we traveled.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
8"
New Snow Density
Low
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
A nice refresh of a storm over night left stellar riding conditions. New snow was 6-8' deep depending on elevation and exposure to the wind. It was a 5 star day of skiing and riding today.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Recent Avalanches
Heavy Snowfall
Cracking
Collapsing
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
We still have many red flags present in our mountains. The ones that are screaming at us are the constant collapsing and cracking due to the large load that the snowpack has received recently. Today our group experienced several collapses and plenty of shooting crack on W - N aspects. The thing about them was that they were very large and not always triggered by the person breaking trail. In some cases we were skinning on an established skin track and would experience a collapse. On a W aspect at 8800' after we had already dug a pit and disturbed the slope we felt a large settlement and heard the audible whumph. This pit had results of ECTP17 SC down 70cm on faceted grains. Another collapse that resulted in several hundred feet of shooting cracks yielded the ECTPV video linked below. This was NW at 9600'. Still quite unstable out there, keep patient though and good things may come!
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
The above statements about shooting cracks and collapsing throughout the day say it all. what I was discouraged to see was how reactive the faceted layer was on the W aspect at a mid elevation. Still not healing!
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None
Coordinates