Episode 2 of the UAC podcast has been released. Drew Hardesty talks Avalanche Weather with Professor Powder himself, atmospheric sciences professor and author of Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth, Jim Steenburgh. Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Spend some time improving your rescue skills or learning about avalanches in these upcoming Salt Lake City area classes:
We have discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Deer Valley, Snowbasin,and Beaver Mountain. Details and order information here. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!
The UAC Marketplace is online. The holiday auction is closed, but our online marketplace still has deals on skis, packs, airbag packs, beacons, snowshoes, soft goods and much more.
As of 6 am the temperatures in the Provo mountains are quite balmy in the upper 30's F, and winds are out of the southwest and light, averaging less than 10 mph, with some gusts over 20 mph. Our threadbare snowpack reflects the 11 straight snow-less days, with a snow surface consisting of wind and sun crusts, as well as soft recrystallized snow.
Despite the lack of snow, winter travel in the mountains is still a joy. Travel remains supportable, and the recrystallized snow looks beautiful in the early January light.
Week in Review
[Click HERE for a more detailed report]
Friday December 29: A skier-triggered avalanche occurred in Dry Fork. This avalanche was 2.5' deep and 100' wide, running 400' vertical. It was a persistent slab avalanche, failing in faceted snow that formed during the earlier part of the winter.
Saturday December 30 - Thursday January 4: Our continued pattern of no storms with mostly clear skies. Moderate west/northwest winds were observed, particularly early in the week, but they only produced small pockets of unresponsive wind-slabs. Observers reported continued collapsing in the snowpack, but collapses were much less common than over the week between Christmas and New Years. The clear skies have helped to weaken the snowpack, especially at the surface.
No reports of collapsing or recent avalanche activity. We did receive two observations from the Provo-area mountains this past week:
Sunset Peak Thursday Jan 4 (Todd Glew)
Big Springs Tuesday Jan 2 (Tyler Falk)