December 19

Emigration-City Creek

Elevations, slope angles and aspects

6500-9000', angles approaching 35°, north and south facing.

Snow conditions

New snow amounts of 3-4", beginning shortly before noon. A little cracking of shallow wind deposits, north facing in the am, south facing in the pm. Two localized collapses were felt in shallow snow areas. Base on south facing was 6-12", north facing 24-30".

Three crusts above small grained facets

three-crusts

Weather

Strong pre-frontal winds from the south were gusting over 30 mph. Frontal passage switched the wind to the nw, with gusts over 30mph once again, decreasing as snowfall increased. Cool temperatures.

Snow pit

lookout-peak-snow-profile

Evaluation

Snow pack in the area looked good. It is lacking the weak layering found elsewhere. Localized collapsing indicated scattered weakness from loading in the last week. Instabilities should be spotty and decrease with settlement, unless the pack is subjected to large and rapid snowfall amounts.

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December 19 journal

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