Hello and Merry Christmas, this is Toby
Weed of the
Current Conditions:
Although it's certainly not like powder
we've come to expect around here this time of year, you can find decent snow
conditions at higher elevations in the region. Last week's warmth and
rain at lower and mid-elevations made a soggy mess out of
the approach conditions. Nightly refreezes have turned trailheads and
seasonally un-maintained access roads at lower elevations into tilted skating
rinks. You'll find a real danger of uncontrolled slides in your vehicle, even
on very low angle grades, when you suddenly loose traction on the thick
melt-slickened water ice. I'm not kidding, and in many cases you'll face
more danger to yourself and equipment before you even park your vehicle than in
the backcountry. The list of scary trailheads include
but are not limited to:
Avalanche Conditions:
A bunch of you got out yesterday, and no new avalanches were reported or observed. Crusts formed at lower and mid-elevations and on sunny upper elevation slopes. The wind-drifts or fresh slabs from Friday and last week are now mostly glued in place, and deeply buried weak layers aren't active region wide. Avalanches are generally unlikely in the backcountry today, but they are still possible on some very steep slopes. Watch for steep pockets in the rocks or generally shallow areas where last week's winds may have drifted-in a slab. You still might trigger pockety slab avalanches on slopes steeper than about 40 degrees. Also, be wary of slopes that get soggy on the surface as the day warms. If you notice spontaneous roller-ball development or natural sluffing, it's time to head home or at least onto a shadier slope.
Bottom Line:
There is a LOW avalanche danger on the majority of slopes in the backcountry. Avalanches are generally unlikely, but you'll find a MODERATE danger, with the possibility of avalanches on some very steep, previously wind-drifted or sun-warmed slopes.
Mountain Weather:
We'll see beautiful weather this Christmas day, with mild temperatures and increasing cloudiness. The ridge moves eastward tonight opening the door for a potentially interesting week weather-wise. Look for light snow to begin late tonight, continue on Monday, and increase in intensity Monday night. Another storm is hot on the first's heels and should begin to affect our region late Wednesday.
General Information:
For a list of our upcoming classes and awareness talks, go to our education page
Snow nerds, check out the new Snow Profiles page.
Please send backcountry observations to [email protected], especially if you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry.
This advisory will expire on Monday morning, but I will update it again on Tuesday night.
The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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National Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.