In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah
Monday,
April 28, 2003
What a very strange year it’s
been. The first half of the winter we
suffered through the worst drought since 1976.
Then, even though February, March and April ended up with average
snowfall for upper elevations, true to form for this winter, very little snow
fell below about 8,000 feet. For
instance, high elevation places like Alta ended better than most with 79
percent of normal. Most of
We have quit issuing
avalanche advisories for the season, but it doesn’t mean that there will be no
more avalanches. It just means that the
money has run out, and most people would rather ride bikes, work in the garden
and go jeep’in than go skiing, boarding or
snowmobiling. If you do get out this
spring, you’re on your own, so here’s some things to
think about.
First,
there’s a wealth of information available on the Internet at the usual
locations, such as the National Weather Service page (http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Saltlake/). You can click on the Snow and Avalanche
section to look at the automated mountain weather stations. Unfortunately, most of them are shut down for
the season, but Snowbird usually operates through the spring and you can always
check the temperatures and snow amounts on the SNOTEL sites at (http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Saltlake/avalanche/snotel/indexWorkArea.html)
and we also have a link from our web site at www.avalanche.org and click on
To
figure out whether or not the snow has frozen overnight, it’s not quite as
simple as looking at the temperatures.
With a clear sky, especially combined with dry air, the snow can freeze
even at temperatures approaching 40 degrees, although it will usually be a thin
freeze. As a general guide, if the
overnight low in
The
main hazard in spring is usually large wet slab avalanches. These occur when a cold, dry snowpack first
warms up to freezing and water begins to percolate through the snowpack. This occurs in early spring on south facing
slopes, in mid spring on east and west facing slopes and in late spring on
upper elevation north facing slopes.
They often happen after three nights where the snowpack did not freeze
combined with strong melting during the day.
Another form of wet slab avalanche is a glide avalanche, which means the
entire snowpack slides slowly on the ground, kind of like a glacier until they
release catastrophically. These usually
happen on steep rock slabs such as in Broad’s Fork and Stairs Gulch. They can happen any time of day an in most
any kind of temperatures but especially during very warm conditions and they
can easily happen just after a freeze at the end of a warm period. The bottom line is that places like Broad’s
Fork, Stairs Gulch and the Cardiff Fork rock slabs are bad places to be in
spring.
Finally,
you will have to worry about the usual round of new snow sluffs and soft slab
avalanches that occur with each snow storm.
As always, you should avoid steep slopes with recent deposits of wind
drifted snow. Most every spring, there
are several close calls at the resorts that are closed for the season. People are used to those slopes being safe
because the ski patrol does avalanche control each day, but remember that when
the resorts are not open, it’s just like the Stone Age. You’re have to be
your own avalanche expert.
Well,
it’s been an interesting year, but I’m glad it’s over. Let’s hope for the epic snow year next season. If you need to get a hold of me during the
spring or summer you can leave a message on our machine, which I will check sporatically. Our number is 801-524-5304.
Thanks for calling!
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