25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains | Issued by Drew Hardesty for Tuesday - March 14, 2017 - 6:37am |
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special announcement Spring Special: We have a few donated Snowbird, Snowbasin, Solitude, and Brighton discount lift tickets left and have just lowered the price. Ski a day and benefit the Utah Avalanche Center! Order here. Part 3 of The Little Things (that might keep you alive) is hot off the press - has to do with safe travel protocols in the backcountry. Not to be missed! |
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current conditions Winter, where are you tonight? As of 4am, mountain temperatures are 5-8°F warmer than they were at this time yesterday morning and we're set for daytime highs near 60°F at 8500' this afternoon. Current mountain temps are in the mid-30s along the ridgelines. The protected thermal belt mid-elevation temps are currently in the mid 40s. We still have a few hours for the snowpack to shed some more heat, but this morning's surface refreeze will be more superficial and transient than before. The westerlies are 20-30mph, gusting to 35-40. The key in the spring is to start early and exit early. |
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recent activity No reports of activity from yesterday. |
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description
Much the same from yesterday except that the snow will soften much earlier than yesterday and the mid-elevation northerly aspects will also dampen and become susceptible to wet sluffs. Just like clockwork, today's sunny aspects will transition from rock-hard coral to soft, damp, and supportable to wet and unstable. Play your cards right in playing your aspects right. Move from east to south to west facing terrain to catch that "soft, damp and supportable window" on each. And timing is everything. Arrive too early and it's a visit to the dentist's office. Arrive too late and you've put yourself at risk for wet avalanches. If you're riding through unsupportable wet snow, seeing pinwheels and rollerballs, or observing natural wet loose sluffs, it's time to hit the road. We may start to see the much more dangerous wet slab avalanches with the radically warm temperatures during the day and superficial refreezes - at best - during the overnight hours. Collapsing is often a poor sign as a refreeze collapses the wet grains beneath.
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type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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description
The cornices along the mid and upper elevation ridgelines have become enormous and unruly this year. With enhanced warming, they will continue to be exceptionally dangerous and unstable. Remember that they will break well back beyond the apex of the ridgeline. It's best to approach any ridgeline with caution or with a spotter who can see where the snow ends and the earth begins. These cornices have gained enough mass to potentially trigger an avalanche on the slope below. Cornice-fall and cornice-related avalanches account for roughly 5% of our avalanche fatalities. Glide avalanches just under 2%. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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![]() LIKELIHOOD
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UNLIKELY
SIZE
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SMALL
TREND
![]() INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
Glide avalanches are challenging to predict, but tend to release during periods of rapidly warming temperatures that both enhance the slow downhill glide rate of the entire snowpack and allow for snow melt to percolate down to the ground interface. They can release without warning anytime - day or night - and produce large, catastrophic avalanches and impressive debris piles. Glide releases are uncommon in the Ogden area mountains, but have released in the past. You can read about the Feb 2013 glide accident in Broads Fork here and the tragic double fatality in Stairs Gulch from April 2001 here. |
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weather We'll have mostly sunny skies today with temps warming to near 60 at 8500' and the low 40s at 10,000'. West winds will blow 15mph. A weak disturbance quickly moves through on Thursday, but this is only a pause as ridgetop temps spiral even toward the mid to upper 40s by the weekend. Models do suggest that the ridge weakens with perhaps something moving through Sunday night into Monday. |
general announcements
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