In partnership with: The Friends of the Utah
Avalanche Center, Utah Department of Public Safety Division of Comprehensive
Emergency Management,
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Avalanche advisory
Thursday, January 29, 2004, 7:30 am
Good
morning, this is Andrew McLean with the
Current
Conditions:
Yesterday’s micro storm spit out a trace of light density new snow. At the upper elevations, westerly winds have pushed it around a bit, with overnight gusts in the mid 30 mph range and averages of about 10 mph. Sad but true, today will be warm and misty, with light precipitation and daytime temperatures above freezing at 8,000’. The snowline is currently at 6,000’ with a light freezing rain glaze reported at up to 7,500’. Despite this, the backcountry has generally good conditions, but you’ll have to put up with bumping off the bottom in places and be content with knee dustings instead of face shots.
Avalanche Conditions:
The snowpack seems to be in a state of suspended anticipation, just waiting for something to happen, or not happen. Cracking and collapsing is still common, especially on the flats and along ridges. Yesterday there were three reports of small intentional human triggered avalanches and one large slide in the Tuscarora area, which illustrates the delicate balance we now have. Starting from a slope cut on a steep upper elevation, wind loaded ridge, the Tuscarora slide stepped down into deeper snow and produced a dangerous avalanche with an 18” crown line. While it may not be obvious, we have been incrementally adding water weight to the snowpack since January 24th through a series of sporadic storms. This new load is running a close race with the snowpack’s ability to adjust to it, and right now the snowpack is winning, but not by much. A key player in this scenario is the wind, which can transport up to ten times the amount of fallen snow and quickly load unlikely areas. This will be especially critical in upper elevation, wind exposed areas where large drifts can quickly develop.
In general terms, the snowpack is stable, but untrustworthy. Staying in lower angle terrain, paying attention to where the wind has been loading slopes and avoiding blatant terrain traps will be prudent until the weather decides which way it’s going to go. High winds or larger than expected snowfall will easily aggravate the stability.
Bottom
Line for the Wasatch Range, including the
On all slopes steeper than 35 degrees, the
avalanche danger is moderate, with human
triggered avalanches being possible. Particularly
avoid any slope with recent wind drifts and steep terrain traps such as
gullies. On wind sheltered slopes less
steep than 35 degrees, the danger is low.
Mountain Weather:
This morning will start out misty and mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and then clear in the afternoon as a high pressure ridge fills in aloft. Daytime 8,000’ temperatures will be right around freezing with a moderate wind out of the northwest. This evening will be partly cloudy with lows around 22 degrees and the wind backing overnight from northerly to southwest. On Friday, a cold front is expected with temperatures starting in the lower 30’s and then dropping down into the teens by the end of the day, accompanied by a period of snow with accumulations possible.
For specific digital forecasts for the
General Information:
The
Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not operate yesterday and today they will be
flying in Silver, Days,
The Banff Film Festival, a benefit for the Friends
of the
The Friends of the
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.
Thanks for calling.
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