Observation Date
12/27/2016
Observer Name
jg
Region
Uintas » Upper Weber Canyon » Smith-Moorehouse
Location Name or Route
Smith & Morehouse Area
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
Few clouds early in the day but finally the sky filled and became overcast.
Winds were calm at lower elevations but were moderate and swirly up high and generally coming from the south, moving snow and creating fresh wind slabs.
Temps more moderate today; mid to upper 20's at 9K.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
Lots of soft snow still out there but the wind was having it's way with the new snow and forming sensitive, shallow wind drifts up high.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Biggest red flag was the wind loading in the upper elevation terrain.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
Increased danger with continued wind. As I'm writing this, I went to check WX stations for wind speed and direction and many are offline and reporting no data. If the wind die down the danger will be trending toward decreasing - pretty straight forward.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
By Uinta standards the bottom 3' or so of the pack is pretty solid and homogeneous. The weaknesses I found were in the upper 2' or so of the pack. These weaknesses were reactive in pit tests and failed with easy to moderate effort in both CT and ECT's. Failures on ECT's propagated across the column.
Snow Profile
Aspect
Northwest
Elevation
9,400'
Slope Angle
26°
Comments
Impressive flagging heights on the trees at the bottom of this large slide path.
Wind slabs will be the biggest concern in the next couple of days but, based on my snow pit tests today, I wouldn't rule out slides releasing within the top 24" of the pack.
Overall, excellent riding conditions with moderate hazard.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
