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Observation Date
3/17/2017
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Gold Hill
Location Name or Route
Gold Hill
Weather
Sky
Few
Wind Direction
South
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Another mild start to the day with snow conditions softening quickly.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Mostly tired crusty snow in the morning quickly turning damp with a few areas still having some dense loose snow in the very protected high north facing slopes. Riders have been getting after it with lots of high marks and side hill tracks on many of the steeper slopes around the area.
Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
The heat is on, but only observed a few wet roller balls on those slopes getting direct sun.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Continued warm days and poor refreezes at night keep the possibility of wet loose slides on east through west facing slopes.
Comments
One more picture of these huge cornices that are along the ridge lines.
Came across this sled triggered slide that is a few days old at least? This slope has avalanched once and possible twice this season and it typically has some very weak snow around this rocky area. Digging around up near the crown, I was finding dry to moist faceted snow at the ground and hard to believe we're talking about weak snow this time of year. A small slide, but a rough and rocky ride if someone did get caught in this?
These unseasonably warm days are started to taking their toll on the trails.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate