Wasatc h
Cache National Forest
In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center, Utah Department of
Public Safety Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management, Salt Lake County,
and Utah State Parks
The
Utah Avalanche Center
Home page is: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/
Avalanche advisory
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Good Morning. This is Ethan Greene with the
Current Conditions:
The mountains picked up about
two inches of new snow yesterday and another inch overnight. Last night under mostly cloudy skies
temperatures dropped into the low teens at 8,000’ and to about 10 degrees at
10,000’. Winds have been in the 5 to 10
mph range from the west and southwest.
The snow surface is almost
supportable and covered with soft powder snow.
You can still break through into weaker snow if you’re not gentle on
your skis or snowmobile. Some south
facing slopes below 9,500’ have a thin surface crust from a few days ago.
Avalanche Conditions:
Today is the first day of
winter, and I am glad that it is finally here!
The solstice has brought us both good and bad news, and the good news is
that cool temperatures and snow flurries today will make it feel like winter in
the mountains. The bad news is that our
latest avalanche cycle is far from over.
Yesterday there were two human triggered avalanches reported from the
Wasa
Since last Tuesday there has
been at least one human triggered avalanche reported each day. Like the two from yesterday, many of these
slides have been remotely triggered.
Nearly all of these avalanches have been breaking on a well developed
layer of faceted or sugary snow that formed during our long dry spell. Although the snowpack is adjusting to the
new-snow load from last week, it remains quite sensitive. Faceted weak layers often allow you to travel
on a slope until you hit just the right spot and trigger a large
avalanche. Thus far the avalanche
activity has been on west through north, and north through east facing slopes
steeper than about 35 degrees. Traveling
in areas that have already slid is generally a good idea, but keep in mind that
many of the recent avalanches broke mid-path leaving large chunks of snow in
the starting zone. In these areas it is
still possible to trigger a dangerous avalanche.
Bottom Line (SLC,
The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on west
through north, and north through east facing slopes steeper than about 35
degrees. On south facing slopes and
slopes in the 30 degree range the avalanche danger is generally MODERATE. Backcountry travelers should still avoid
traveling under steep slopes or in gullies and other terrain traps.
Mountain Weather:
An upper level low, currently
over southeast
General Information:
The Friends of the
To report backcountry snow
and avalanche conditions, especially if you observe or trigger an avalanche,
call (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email to [email protected] or fax to
801-524-6301. 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.
I will update this advisory by
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: