Episode 3 of the UAC podcast went live last night. We talk with UDOT Avalanche Program Supervisor Bill Nalli on how he and his teams keep the Greatest Snow on Earth from avalanching over the open roads and highways of the state. Find it on our blog site (linked above), iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Do you know the parable of the Scorpion and the Frog? A short piece of fiction from Mineral Fork here.
It's the stuff that dreams are made of. 12-20" of right-side-up blower powder, capped off by a few inches of 3% density wild snow. The Wasatch will be in all its glory this afternoon with breaking skies, slowing winds, and arguably "best of the year" conditions. I suspect that future cover shots of all the Powder magazines will have a time stamp of Sunday, January 21st.
Currently skies are overcast with very light snow falling, the last few flakes of cold smoke from the departing storm. Northwest winds are blowing 15mph with gusts to 30. The most exposed anemometers hum at 20-25mph with gusts to 40. Mountain temperatures have plummeted to the single digits. Now the numbers: (snow/snow water equivalent).
- Little Cottonwood - 9"/0.29"(SWE) overnight with storm totals of 20"/1.08"(SWE)
- Big Cottonwood - 3.5"/0.16" overnight with storm totals of 15.5"/0.85"
- Park City ridgeline - 2"/0.1" with storm totals of 16"/1.0"
- Ogden area mountains - 1"/.06" overnight with storm totals of 14"/1.05"
- Provo area mountains - trace of new with storm totals of 10"/0.75"
Reading our Week in Review will be worthwhile as you are planning your weekend. Each Friday, Greg Gagne summarizes mountain weather and avalanche activity, as well as archived forecasts and danger roses for the past week. Make it a regular part of your Fridays.
It's also what fuels nightmares. The low density snow sluffed easily with ski cuts and explosives; however the main issue from yesterday is focused primarily on the three human triggered slides into old snow. Very similar in nature - 2-3' deep, averaging 200' wide, and on northerly facing slopes at 9600'. For locations, go to www.wbskiing.com. Photo credit below (White, Greg S., Kikkert).
- No Name Bowl - a skier remotely triggered and was then caught and carried for over 500' but suffered only minor injuries and able to ski out on his own. His was the 20th track on the slope.
- Icebox of Porter Fork - skiers testing the top of the run intentionally triggered a 3' deep 150' wide avalanche. The party quickly skiied down, turned their beacons to receive, and cleared the debris; ensuring no one from a separate party was caught below.
- Sheepshit Ridge along the PC/MCC ridgeline - an avalanche education class staying on the ridgeline remotely triggered a 2-3' deep 125' wide avalanche into old faceted snow.
Click HERE for a list of all reported avalanches in Utah.