Observation: Catherine's Pass

Observation Date
4/13/2018
Observer Name
Drew Hardesty and Mark Staples
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Catherine's Pass
Location Name or Route
Catherine's Pass
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Moderate Snowfall
Wind Direction
Northwest
Weather Comments
Snowing pretty hard at times yesterday afternoon. Winds were transporting some snow.
Comments

We just had 2 hours in between meetings. Went for a quick tour along Point Supreme, Rocky Point, Catherine's Pass, and Mt Tuscarora.

New snow seemed to have bonded well to the underlying ice crust and to itself by yesterday afternoon. Recent wind drifts and wind slabs were not cracking.

Small cornices would break easily.

See the photo below showing evidence of wind transport. Despite 2 feet of new snow in this area, the trees had been stripped of this snow. The video below shows new snow depth as Drew breaks trail.

Video

The danger where we traveled was low. I suspect higher elevations have a Moderate elevation where you can probably find a wind slab to trigger.

Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low