Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:33 pm
Skied USA Bowl today. Ski penetration on the break in was 18"+. Probably around 25" fresh in most places. Very foggy and cloudy today, which kept the snow pretty nice all day. Some minor flurries, no significant accumulation while I was out there. Snow quality was somewhat less than the ideal Wasatch fluff, but for April 30th, it was downright amazing.
The big story for avy danger was the wind-loading from the early parts of this storm. The Monitors were majorly corniced and looked pretty nasty today. We didn't notice any significant instabilities, but we kept the angle too low to really notice anything. It's a pretty simple equation right now: there's 25"+ of snow sitting on top of a great sliding surface. It should settle pretty quickly given the time of year, but with the cold temps and clouds until Monday morning, settlement might be delayed. But, that also means skiing and riding conditions will be fabulous until at least Monday.
More snow on the way! Hard to believe it was the day before May today and I was breaking trail in two feet of pow. Beautiful. I'm sure you guys looking for spring mountaineering routes must be slashing your wrists right now along with the mountain bikers.
The big story for avy danger was the wind-loading from the early parts of this storm. The Monitors were majorly corniced and looked pretty nasty today. We didn't notice any significant instabilities, but we kept the angle too low to really notice anything. It's a pretty simple equation right now: there's 25"+ of snow sitting on top of a great sliding surface. It should settle pretty quickly given the time of year, but with the cold temps and clouds until Monday morning, settlement might be delayed. But, that also means skiing and riding conditions will be fabulous until at least Monday.
More snow on the way! Hard to believe it was the day before May today and I was breaking trail in two feet of pow. Beautiful. I'm sure you guys looking for spring mountaineering routes must be slashing your wrists right now along with the mountain bikers.