In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department of Public Safety Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, and Utah State Parks: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/
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Avalanche advisory
Friday, January 9, 2004 7:30 am
Good
morning, this is Andrew McLean with the
For photos
of avalanches and avalanche phenomenon, click HERE.
For a list of backcountry avalanche activity, click HERE.
Current Conditions:
Yesterday
was a disturbing normal day for a season like this – no wind or snow, sunny
skies and mild temperatures in the mountains.
Perhaps not something you want too much of, but then again, it was also
a welcome break. The high winds of two
days ago created widespread windslabs, which are now
forming a supportable base in most areas with a few inches of lighter density snow
on top. After a clear
night with temperatures in the mid to high twenties at 8,000’, today will be similar,
but with daytime highs in the mid to upper 40’s. The turning and riding conditions range from carvable foam at higher elevations to dense full-fat creamy
powder in sheltered areas and a bit of crusting on sunny slopes.
Click here for 375k Little Cottonwood panorama from Jan 8.
Avalanche Conditions:
At 123% of our normal snowfall, we have a nice deep, stable snowpack. While there are still some buried layers, the regular storm intervals we’ve had this year have done a great job of adding weight in steady increments. The widespread wind slabs, combined with yesterday’s warm, sunny weather have put a factory fresh seal on the top of the snowpack and cemented it in place. Avalanche activity from yesterday was mainly confined to small 6 – 8” deep isolated pockets of wind drifted snow releasing from slope cuts. These aren’t running far or packing much punch. With today’s warming temperatures, these will be even harder to trigger. In the last few days, people have been taking advantage of this period of stability and quite a few big, steep lines now have tracks in them.
Cornices remain sensitive to human weight and should be approached with caution. If you are in upper elevation areas, keep an eye out for wind loaded, hollow sounding pillows of snow just below the ridgelines. With the unseasonably warm temperatures today, afternoon point release slides on steep slopes may also become a concern.
Bottom Line for the Wasatch Range, including the
In upper elevation, ridgeline areas with slopes
steeper than 35 degrees and wind deposits, there is a moderate danger of human triggered avalanches. In all other areas and aspects, there is a LOW danger. There is a slightly higher danger in the
Today there is a CONSIDERABLE danger on any steep slope with recent wind drifts and a MODERATE danger on non wind-affected steep slopes and a LOW danger on slopes less steep than 30 degrees.
Mountain Weather:
High pressure and warm temperatures have settled in for a stay. Today will be mostly sunny in the mountains, with a light wind out of the south and daytime highs expected to be in the mid to high 40’s at 8,000’. The nighttime temperatures will dip back down below freezing tonight with continuing clear skies. This weather pattern is expected to dominate through the weekend, with a very slight chance of a trace of new snow on Saturday evening.
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:
The Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in American Fork,
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 Friends of the
Avalanche Awareness Week is January 18-24th and there are a number of events and presentations. For complete details, visit: www.backcountryawareness.com
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.
Evelyn Lees will update this advisory Saturday morning.
Thanks for calling.
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