February 23
Area:
Alta to Brighton, Mill D North to Reynolds.
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
7500’-10000’. Angles to 38°, north and east facing aspects.
Avalanche activity:
Surface sluffing and shallow soft slabs, both within new snow layering, with nothing over 8” deep and 25’ wide
These were naturals caused by the wind drifting, ski cuts and cornice kicking. All on east and northeast facing aspects.
Slopes skied:
Dogleg chute Rocky point, Dog Lake chute above Brighton Dog Lake. Reynolds Peak northeast facing.
Snow surface and conditions:
There was about 6” of new snow in the Catherines area on to Brighton before noon. In the afternoon instability showers increased that amount to around 12” at 5:30 pm. The snow was of light density, with several density changes caused by the periods of stronger wind. The snow was bonding but, the density changes created the sluffing and soft slab activity observed. The underlying snow surface is for the most part crusted of variable densities, from supportable to eggshell depending on aspect and exposure to the strong prefrontal southwest winds and three days of mild temperatures.. No collapsing was felt, cracking was within the shallow new snow wind drifts.
Weather conditions:
Overcast skies, winds from the northwest gusting over 20 mph at times, mostly at the upper elevations and along the ridgelines. Several periods of snow squalls during the day. Moderate temperatures.
Snow pits:
Hand pits to check bonding, old surface with new snow and pole probing.
Evaluation:
There were several density changes within the new snow active today. Those were for the most part harmless sluffs. Terrain traveled through had been cut up by numerous skiers over the last week and was stable. Concerns would be a continued instability within the new snow and localized hazard of deeper and wider releases in the areas loaded from the prefrontal strong southwest winds, especially if the area also had a shallow week underlying snow pack prior to the winds. I would be most concerned with areas which had little or no avalanche activity prior to the wind, including but not limited to White Pine west to Bells and Mineral west to Stairs Gulch.
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