Check out our Holiday Auction - Sign Up for the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW)
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Weather Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills On-Snow Courses Resources and Tutorials
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Observation: Big Cottonwood Canyon

Observation Date
4/30/2024
Observer Name
Craig Gordon
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon
Location Name or Route
Upper Big Cottonwood Canyon
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
A cold spring day with brisk northwest winds that tapered off as the day wore on. Weather at an equilibrium and not changing the avy conditions
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Thought I'd go looking for corn on the sunnies, but Monday night's valley rain showers had me re-evaluating, 'cause around here... April showers mean... shallow, late spring powder :)
Yeah, a couple inches of snow overnight didn't do much to soften the solid MF crust underfoot, though the shallow coat of white paint did provide enough traction to take the monster truck out for a few laps.
Bigger picture... the cold temps locked up the pack around the compass and we're set up for a solid corn cycle the next few days and predictable avy hazard with a late weekend storm on tap.
Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
No red flags noted
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Problem #1 Comments
Weekend storm snow got severely green-housed on Saturday morning (4/27) and there's lots of old, rock hard chunder that cascaded from steep slopes around the compass. Lower angle aprons offer a smooth ride.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
None
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None
Coordinates