Observation Date
2/18/2025
Observer Name
Gagne
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Reynolds Pk
Location Name or Route
Lees Fork - Reynolds Peak
Comments
My focus today was to look at solar aspects after the recent large avalanches on Mt. Raymond, Circle Awl, and Reynolds Peak. These avalanches were on east or southeast aspects with facets around crusts.
I dug three. pits on east, southeast, and south aspects between 8,500' and 9,300' and found a crust down anywhere from 45-90 cms:
Pit 1 on a southeast aspect with the crust down 90 cms, I got ECTP21, failing in facets below the crust, but I could not reproduce the full propagation.
Pits 2 and 3 were on southeast and south aspects and with poor quality ECTN failing in a recent storm snow layer and not down on the crust.
For me, the lack of propagation in the pits only highlights the spatial variability of our current snowpack, and with the red flag data of recent avalanches on similar slopes, I am not entering any avalanche terrain.
Photos of
- south aspect
- large, overhanging cornices along Reynolds
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates