March 7
Location:
Started at the Alta guard station, ascending Flagstaff to Days Fork. Descended
the Two Dogs slide path to the flats.
Ascended the east facing, descending Main Days to the lower flats.
One soft slab within new snow layering was triggered on the lower breakover exit in Banana Belt.
Dimensions of 15’ wide and up to about 4” deep running 20-30’.
Ascended the east facing sub ridge back to the top of Main Days, traversing and descending Banana Belt to the flats. Ascended the next east facing to the ridge, descending Days Draw? east facing to the flats. Ascended the same path, descending Fingers chutes down and continued to Spruces campground.
Weather:
Partly cloudy in the morning, with clouds lowering, thickening and eventually producing snow showers, which increased in intensity in the afternoon. Winds were, for the most part, light.
Snow:
We found the snow sluffed easily on all steeper slopes.
There was from 4” to about a foot of new snow. Amounts were less in upper Days, with increasing amounts in mid canyon, lessoning and thickening from elevation loss. Slick crusts on the sunny and off aspects, with styrofoam on the shady was the rule.
Bottom Line:
Sluffing within new snow was the main hazard today. I would expect that to linger because of the shaky bonding, old with new. Slabs would be formed with any significant winds, increasing the hazard.
March 8
Location:
Started at White Pine parking ascending to near the summit of Red Baldy. Descended to the flats.
Ascended the same route descending off the top to the flats continuing down the next pitch.
Ascended the east facing into upper Boulder Basin descending the north facing and continuing down and out White Pine.
Weather:
It was overcast in the morning, then lowering and thickening clouds with poor visibility and snowfall in the afternoon. Winds were from the north and northwest, higher along the ridges and increasing a bit, with direction change associated with snowfall.
Snow:
There was 8-10 inches settled out, with lesser amounts at low elevations and a bit sticky at the trailhead. A couple of inches fell in the afternoon. Snow was not sluffing as easily as yesterday, and somewhat limited in size. No natural activity was viewed (poor vis) and new snow has, for the most part, bonded with the old surface.
Bottom Line:
The hazard would be related to the amount of new snow received along with the wind. I’d expect slides to be the result of density changes within new snow and possible active wind drifts, maybe into isolated areas of older layering, with the proper load.