Why Snow-Pits are Bull

Snow-pits are like sex: 

1 NO means NO . . . . . 5 GO's (minimum) means MAYBE

Ski tracks on the left, skin track on the right. For an aerial view see next photo (about 1/2 way down), which looks flat but is actually at the point where I'm entering the pitch-angle which is prime for a slide (27 degrees at mid-slope (next photo) to 37 degrees at bottom of photo). In my grumpy-old-man opinion (take or dismiss at your discretion), breaking trail on that skin track provides much, much better info on snow pack stability than digging multiple snow-pits (and wasting time and getting soaked). I'm not just lazy, I'm so lazy that I try to gain the most education with the easiest obtained, and widest breadth of data. Breaking trail does just that. Step, probe, watch, listen and learn.

  

Upper Rectangle where it opens up off the tight ridge. Here I'm nearing the rollover on the face, where I'm always a bit nervous about starting a slide. The angle steadily increase from flat (on Rectangle Peak) to 27 degrees here to 37 degrees at the base of the open slope. Yeah, it looks flat from this aerial view, but look at the previous photo for a better perspective on the real slope angle. This is in the prime angle for a slide, but I bank on the lower elevation, westerly aspect and breaking trail. A wily sense for stability can be gleaned from same-day trail-breaking (same hour preferably), to get you to your ski run. I hear of folks who regularly ski the Central Wasatch (Big, Little and Millcreek Canyons) who have miraculously NEVER broken trail. Given that, and the huge number of B.C. skiers these days, I am stunned and amazed that there have been NO avy-deaths in the Central Wasatch the last two years. After years of digging pits, I'm convinced that trail breaking and being acutely aware of the sound and site signals that come only from breaking trail, give one much, much, MUCH more information on stability than one or two or three bull-shit snow-pits.  The problem with the "pit mentality" is that a snow pit gives you a tiny, minuscule, pin-prick of information in an incredibility huge universe of data. The information gleaned from one pit can be, and often is, completely different just 100 yards in another direction.

Yes, pits are all the rage and they do serve a purpose. But put it in perspective and don't bank on very little data. The professionals don't. One, two or even five pits is not nearly enough to stake your life on. Breaking trail in virgin snow is a much better source of overall data. Pits are good only in huge numbers. Keep in mind how avalanche forecasts are calculated. The results of many, many pits are provided by many, many observers, coming from many, many different locations, aspects and elevations. These results are then summarized as a general consensus and overall avalanche rating for the next day, provided by the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center. Read it every day and don't be afraid to say no to your dumb-ass buddy who wants to ski everything just one day out from a 20 inch dump.

Bountiful Ridge, March 6, 2018

"So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!"
 J. R. R. Tolkien

Helter skelter ski tracks on the pipeline ROW in lower North Canyon. 

Spidy was quick considering the location. I thought arachnids were cold-blooded and paralyzed when cold?

KPF.

The most snow I've seen on the "snow stake" all winter.

33 inches at Rudy's Flat.

52 inches in Rectangle Bowl.

The last storm dumped on the Bountiful foothills,  I had over 15 inches in my driveway, but north of Centerville was mostly bare. A lake affect storm for sure.

Lower Rectangle Bowl, view west.

Frosted Mountain Mahogany.

View from upper Rectangle Bowl. The shadowed face/Ridge is what I call Dead Tree Ridge, which often has protected snow when this spot is sun crusted or sloppy. View SW towards SLC and the Oquirh Mountains. 

First run ski tracks on the Rectangle.

A cold, sunny day makes for a beautiful day in the mountains. By the end of my day the south aspects had a sun-crust, but the north still had great powder.

View NW shows how little snow the north received when the lake dropped 15 inches on my yard. 

This is my fifth day in the Scarpa F-1's and they are so much better than my old TLT-6's. I haven't lost a toenail since I switched  last month.

Crash landing after it followed me flawlessly down the Rectangle. I hope it's as waterproof as claimed.

Tracks in lower Rectangle Bowl.

Skin Track and ski tracks in Rectangle Bowl.

First run ski tracks on the Rectangle, skin track on the right. For an aerial view see next photo (about 1/2 way down), which looks flat but is actually at the point where I'm entering the pitch-angle that is prime for a slide (27 degrees at mid-slope (next photo) to 37 degrees at bottom of photo). In my grumpy-old-man opinion (take or dismiss at your discretion), breaking trail on that skin track provides much, much better info on snow pack stability than digging multiple snow-pits (and wasting time and getting soaked). I'm not just lazy, I'm so lazy that I try to gain the most education with the easiest obtained, and widest breadth of data. Breaking trail does just that. Step, probe, listen, watch and learn.

  

Upper Rectangle where it opens up off the tight ridge. Here I'm nearing the rollover on the face, where I'm always a bit nervous about starting a slide. The angle steadily increase from flat (on Rectangle Peak) to 27 degrees here to 37 degrees at the base of the open slope. Yeah, it looks flat from this aerial view, but look at the previous photo for a better perspective on the real slope angle. This is in the prime angle for a slide, but I bank on the lower elevation, westerly aspect and breaking trail. A wily sense for stability can be gleaned from same-day trail-breaking (same hour preferably), to get you to your ski run. I hear of folks who regularly ski the Central Wasatch (Big, Little and Millcreek Canyons) who have miraculously NEVER broken trail. Given that, and the huge number of B.C. skiers these days, I am stunned and amazed that there have been NO avy-deaths in the Central Wasatch the last two years. After years of digging pits, I'm convinced that trail breaking and being acutely aware of the sound and site signals that come only from breaking trail, give one much, much, MUCH more information on stability than one or two or three bull-shit snow-pits.  The problem with the "pit mentality" is that a snow pit gives you a tiny, minuscule, pin-prick of information in an incredibility huge universe of data. The information gleaned from one pit can be, and often is, completely different just 100 yards in another direction.

Yes, pits are all the rage and they do serve a purpose. But put it in perspective and don't bank on very little data. The professionals don't. One, two or even five pits is not nearly enough to stake your life on. Breaking trail in virgin snow is a much better source of overall data. Pits are good only in huge numbers. Keep in mind how avalanche forecasts are calculated. The results of many, many pits are provided by many, many observers, coming from many, many different locations, aspects and elevations. These results are then summarized as a general consensus and overall avalanche rating for the next day, provided by the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center. Read it every day and don't be afraid to say no to your dumb-ass buddy who wants to ski everything just one day out from a 20 inch dump.

1 NO means NO . . . . . 5 GO's (minimum) means MAYBE

Just off the top of Rectangle Peak and dropping into Crescent Bowl. I take a few turns into Crescent Bowl (great powder and avoiding the rocks on the ridge) then traverse back over to the ridge and then down the big open slope  (photo above) that I call the Rectangle, named for its shape as seen from the valley. When I was a kid I thought it was a cut ski run, but no, just a natural opening through the Douglas Fir.

Rectangle Bowl. When the avalanche danger is high this is usually a safe run, although it's angle (32-36 degrees) still qualify it as prime avalanche terrain. It's generally safe due to its low elevation (7-8,000 feet) and SW aspect. In comparison, the shadowed area above me in the photo (Dead Tree ridge area) slid several times this winter. It's less than a 1/4 mile away but it has a distinctly different make-up when it comes to avalanches. It's steeper (35-40 degrees), faces due north so it rarely gets sun during the winter. Any instabilities last much long than where I'm skiing today.