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: Provo Area Mountains | Issued by Drew Hardesty for Saturday - December 31, 2016 - 6:33am |
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special announcement The Salt Lake City premier of The Fourth Phase from the creators of The Art of Flight will at Brewvies at 7 pm on Monday, Jan 9 as a fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center. For tickets and details, go to https:// The National Avalanche Center just released this new video on the avalanche problems and how they work. This is a key aspect to mountain travel: understanding what type of avalanche you're dealing with. |
current conditions Skies are clear. Mountain temps are in the low 20s; winds are west to northwesterly, blowing 10-15mph along the ridgelines. A far cry from yesterday's 30mph hourly averages with gusts to 50mph. Snow surface conditions are best described as variable. Bruce Englehard's description: "Variable surface conditions exist with widespread wind sculpting, sastrugi, and wind board. The main problem is avoiding the tracks from snow machines, skiers and snowboarders." On the other side of the compass, breakable sun-crusts exist on the southerly aspects. Still, one can hunt and peck for soft settled powder in the weakening snow surface in the low to mid elevation sheltered terrain. Snow depths sit are 30" to 40" in the north fork of the Provo; 35-45" in the south fork. |
recent activity None from the backcountry. Explosive testing in upper Little Cottonwood yielded a couple hard wind drifts 6-24" deep. No other signs of instability noted. A good observation from Provo from the 29th here. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
It's mostly Low danger, what could possibly go wrong? Risk is inherent in mountain travel. Low danger doesn't mean No danger. Shallow soft and hard wind pockets and ever-mercurial cornices still litter the high alpine terrain and while most are fairly welded in, consider the consequences of getting knocked off your feet or ride in high consequence terrain. Sound too general? My good friend Charlie Borgh was killed 10 years ago by a small avalanche that swept him and his partner 3000' down Mt Deltaform in the Canadian Rockies. His partner survived. In Februrary 2007, two snowshoers triggered a 5" hard wind slab on the east ridge of the Pfeifferhorn, tumbling them to the south over cliff-bands into upper Dry Creek. Remember that one tends to transition from "backcountry skiing and riding" to something entirely different in the alpine with its attendant risk and glory. The key is to make deliberate, intentional decisions with calculated risk. What could possibly go wrong? |
weather We'll have mostly clear skies. Temps will rise to the low to mid-20s at 10,000' and the upper 20s to low 30s at 8000'. Winds will blow 10-15mph from the west northwest. Winds will increase from the southwest tomorrow ahead of a cold storm arriving from the northwest Sunday night. This cold storm lacks significant moisture but should provide 6-10"+ of cold smoke by Monday. Models aren't well aligned at this point for details into next week. |
general announcements
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