December 29
Cardiff bowl, Flagstaff, Silver Fork
Snow conditions
Surface snow is capped by yet another rime event. Yesterday it was a soft, easily skied crust. Mild temperatures have settled recent snow into the dense and creamy variety at upper elevations with mid and lower elevation damp and sticky. Another round of wind adds shallow drifts and scouring.
Weather
Gray skies, winds from the west, gusting to around 30 mph and mild temperatures.
Avalanche activity
Alta ski area finally got a large slide in the East Greeley area.
Recent slides were observed in the north and east facing areas of west bowl of Silver Fork. Crowns were blown in and timing is unknown. Recent activity was also observed in the southern portion of Meadow chutes, including Doug's drop. These were large, running into the valley bottom, up the other side, uprooting small trees and leaving big debris piles.
Timing on these is also unknown, but they are in addition to football field and el rollo.
Crowns, scattered on the hillside.
Evaluation
No collapsing was experienced. Cracking was limited to shallow, recently formed wind drifts.The load of snow producing the recent avalanche cycles has settled into a cohesive slab. Another cap of wind and rime covers the surface. Slides are less likely but, size of resulting slide may well be full depth and large. The term "deep slab instability" rears it's ugly head.
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