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Skies are mostly clear, and temperatures in the Provo area mountains have cooled into the upper 20s at the mid and lower elevations. The northwesterly winds are decreasing, now averaging 10 to 15 mph at the mid elevations, and probably 25 to 30 mph on the highest peaks. Perhaps a trace to an inch of snow fell overnight? bringing storm totals to about 4" of snow at 8800', and maybe even double that above 10,000'. Water totals for the wet, rainy storm were around 2 1/2 inches.
In the Cottonwoods, the snow conditions are about as strange as they’ve gotten recently, and I suspect conditions in the Provo area mountains are similar - Saturday’s rain froze into a glassy, slick ice crust on all aspects below about 10,000’, now covered with 3 to 10” of poorly bonded loose graupel. The crust is less slick above about 10,000’.
Be prepared for unusually hard “slide for life” conditions as you travel through elevations below about 10,000’ – even ski crampons struggled on the steepest slopes and side hills.
Evelyn Lees photo – icy patch work, 9,500’, Little Cottonwood Canyon.
No backcountry observations from the Provo area mountain backcountry. But with some visibility today, would expect evidence of a large slab avalanche cycle from Saturday in the Provo area mountains.
Big and Little Cottonwood: yesterday, below about 10,000’, there were easily triggered, narrow long running sluffs. These sluffs would cruise downhill on the slick ice crust, entraining snow top to bottom, creating deep debris piles for such narrow slides. They were starting on absurdly low angles – 20 degrees – and running onto the flats. Yesterday's observations HERE.
Todd Glew photos