UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Sunday, November 23, 2014

A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists on steep, upper elevation, leeward slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass. Human triggered avalanches are probable in terrain with these characteristics. Triggering even a small slide will expose a myriad of hidden obstacles, easily resulting in a season ending injury.

Looking for LOW avalanche danger? Head to slopes that had no pre-existing snow prior to yesterday's storm.

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Learn how to read the forecast here
Avalanche Warning

THE AVALANCHE WARNING FOR ALL MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH HAS BEEN CONTINUED THROUGH 5 AM MONDAY. DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST AT THE MID AND UPPER ELEVATIONS...WITH BOTH NATURAL AND HUMAN TRIGGERED SLIDES LIKELY.

Weather and Snow

A nice shot of snow hit the Skyline overnight and it looks like a solid 8"-10" fell throughout the northern half of the range with 4"-6" the further south you travel. Currently, temperatures are in the mid teens and northwest winds are blowing 15-25 mph. along the summit. There's really not that much snow on the Skyline and riding and turning options are limited to rock-free grassy meadows and roads.

Recent Avalanches

No recent avalanche activity to report.

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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
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Your choices for riding or turning are limited to a few patches of high elevation snow facing the north half of the compass... and that's exactly the type of terrain where you could trigger an avalanche today. Underneath yesterday's storm is early season snow that grew weak and sugary and recent winds drifted snow everywhere. Complicating matters... the snow will feel strong and supportable. So we've gotta think not only about the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on.

Unfortunately, a lot of avalanche accidents and close calls occur early in the season when we don't think there's enough snow to slide. Yesterday's storm created a dangerous early season setup- strong snow on weak snow. Today, you'll want to look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. Remember- clues like shooting cracks and booming collapses or whoomphing sounds are huge clues to unstable snow.

There's not much snow and triggering a slide will immediately ruin your day, taking you for a nasty ride through rocks and stumps barely hidden underneath the shallow snowpack, resulting in a season ending injury.

Additional Information

After a bit of a break, one last gasp of snow should move over the region late tonight, giving us a few additional inches of light fluff. Northwest winds remain a nuisance along the highest ridges, blowing into the 30's and 40's. Temperatures don't vary much from where we're at this morning and dip into the low teens overnight. Scattered snow showers linger into Monday and then high pressure begins to build into the mid portion of the upcoming week.

General Announcements

We're still interested in snow and avalanche information. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE

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The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

I will update this advisory by 7:00 AM Saturday Nov. 29, 2014.