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
Good morning, this is Drew
Hardesty with the
Current Conditions:
It started snowing just
before
Avalanche Conditions:
Yesterday was the first day
in exactly a week that no new natural or human triggered avalanches were
reported from the backcountry. Since
last Sunday, there have been numerous backcountry slides, including some close
calls where skiers have been caught or have had to ski out of avalanches they
have unintentionally triggered. All
these avalanches fractured on the weak layer of frost or “surface hoar” that
formed on the surface of the snow on November 7th and 8th. Most of the problem seems to be above
about 9,000 feet on northerly through easterly facing slopes but it’s quite
pockety: you can find it in the upper elevations of one
drainage, but not the drainage next to it. With quiet conditions yesterday, my feeling is
that time and the warm temperatures have helped the buried surface hoar adjust
to its load, effectively releasing the tension of the rubber band. But it’s not so simple: another layer of surface hoar formed Friday
night and is now buried under last night’s snowfall. If we see another 4-6” today, the avalanche
problems may include new snow avalanches on the most recent weak surface snow
and then the potential of the new load reactivating the deeper buried surface
hoar. Regardless, play it conservative
and stick to slopes under about 32 degrees.
If you must push slope angles today, do lot’s of digging in the snow and
do stress tests to look for the characteristic clean, spring-loaded shears on a
thin layer of sparkly feather-like crystals.
Bottom Line (
The avalanche danger is MODERATE, or localized today
on slopes facing the northwest through east quadrants of the compass, above
about 9,000’, and steeper than about 34 degrees. Moderate implies that human triggered
avalanches are possible. If we see snow
totals of about a foot, the danger will rise accordingly: both layers of
surface hoar may become reactive where both natural and human triggered
avalanches will become more likely.
Mountain Weather:
A weak storm currently moving through should drop an additional 3-6”
today with light southwest and westerly winds along the ridgetops. 8000’ temps will be in the high 20’s with
10,000’ temps near 20 degrees. Tonight a
fast moving storm moving down from the
For specific digital forecasts for selected mountain areas from the
National Weather Service, click the links below or choose your own specific
location at the National
Weather Service Digital Forecast Page:
3-Day Table |
3-Day Graph |
7-Day Table |
General
Information:
Starting on Monday, Alta Ski Area will be closed to uphill traffic
because of avalanche control and slope preparation for their opening on
Thursday.
If
you are getting into the backcountry, please give us a call and let us know what
you’re seeing, especially if you trigger an avalanche. You can leave a message at 524-5304 or
1-800-662-4140. Or you can e-mail an
observation to uac@avalanche .org, or you can fax an
observation 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 tomorrow morning.
Thanks for calling
_____________________________________________________________________________
For more detailed weather
information go to our Mountain Weather Advisory
National
Weather Service - Salt Lake City - Snow.
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings:
http://www.avalanche.org/usdanger.htm