Observation Date
1/1/2026
Observer Name
Climaco
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline » Home Run
Location Name or Route
Home Run Bowl
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Mixed Snow-Rain
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Felt like a moderate breeze up there this afternoon. At 9200’ a wet mix of something that looked like snow but soaked us like rain fell from the sky. The rain/snow line was down at about 8850’.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
7"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Stopped to perform an ECT at 9200’ on a roughly 28 degree slope facing NE. Total snow dept was a surprising 110cm. Granted we were on the leeward side, but this was slightly more than twice the snow depth I recorded in this area four days ago.
The snow was very damp and dense, almost like a wet spring storm. There now appears to be a heavy and dense wind slab sitting atop the Xmas eve crust. This layer skied surprisingly well today.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Wet snow blown over a stout rain crust with sugar below? Sounds like a low probability, high consequence kind of red flag snowpack.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Heaviest snow I’ve skied in a while. Sitting on the Xmas eve crust I would be very suspicious of this new wind drifted dense, wet snow in any avalanche terrain.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #2 Comments
The aforementioned breeze combined with the new snow of the last few days and things are up to 2x the depth they were on Sunday.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northeast
Elevation
9,200'
Slope Angle
29°
Comments
I got to a very robust ECT 27 and this thing was just not moving, which really surprised me. We skied the driveway and didn’t touch the crust or anything else. Again, wind favored our route. But, while it all looked nice enough on top, I was still happy to be safely skiing low angle terrain without overhead hazard.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates
