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Observation: Uintas

Observation Date
2/8/2025
Observer Name
Paradis / Caplis
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Weber Canyon
Weather
Sky
Few
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Weather Comments
Not too windy or cold. Pleasant travel conditions. Most of the day was overcast with a few breaks of sun. It was snowing more heavily on our exit around 4pm.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
6"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Overal good snow conditions, considering how warm it was this past week. New snow depth varied but ~6" depending on aspect was enough to cover the crust above 9000 feet. Between 9000-8000 feet crust from warm temperatures was slightly noticeable and there was maybe only 4" of new snow.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Primary concern today were facets in the upper part of the snowpack. These seemed to have maybe gained a little strength from warm temperatures this past week but not willing to trust them yet. This area didn't have as much new snow as the Cottonwoods so new snow wasn't a concern. We didn't experience any cracking or collapsing.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
As noted above, the facets that formed during cold weather late in January were present in multiple locations last week and were only waiting a slab. Warm temps during the past week formed crusts at mid/lower elevations and on west aspects. These crusts were not all the strong and added a bit of uncertainty for me to the snowpack. At higher elevations, there is a bit more snow and facets didn't seem quite as loose as last week, however this is a very subjective observation. We didn't ski anything over 30 degrees today.
Snow Profile
Aspect
North
Elevation
9,700'
Slope Angle
10°
Comments
No real propagation in ECTs. The area under the shovel just slowly compressed with additional taps. It is possible that we just squished the facets which were not all that deep, making test results not all that representative.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate