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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/
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Avalanche advisory
Saturday,
December 18, 2004
Good Morning. This is Evelyn Lees with the
Tonight is the
night - Wasatch Backcountry Rescue’s fundraiser in
We’d like to give a
big Thanks to one of our avalanche education partners, Brighton Ski Resort, for
hosting a very successful ‘Know Before You Go’
avalanche awareness talk this week.
Free Beacon Rescue
Training Centers are now open at Snowbird and the Canyons. For more information go to
wasatchbackcountryrescue.org.
Current Conditions:
Skies are clear this morning,
and temperatures are in the upper teens to mid 20’s at 10,000’. The northwesterly winds were a bit brisk last
night across the upper ridgelines, but have now dropped into the 15 to 20 mph range
at the highest stations, and to less than 10 mph elsewhere.
I’ve always thought crusts
belonged exclusively on French bread and apple pies, but that is certainly not
the case these days. Both supportable and unsupportable crusts
cover the majority of backcountry slopes, with only a few select shady slopes having
patches of soft snow. Some of the thicker
crusts should soften nicely with today’s warmer temperatures.
Avalanche Conditions:
Avalanche activity is decreasing
in the backcountry, with no new slides reported yesterday, and only explosive
triggered slides on Thursday. However, there
are still places where a person could trigger a dangerous hard slab 2 to 4’
deep, and the consequences of being caught in one of these deep slides would be
grim. The slide would fail on a weak
layer of faceted snow, and the nature of this instability may allow multiple skiers or
riders to cross a slope before it fails. The most likely place
to trigger a slide would be at the mid and upper elevations, on a steep, shady
slope, especially in a shallow or rocky snowpack area. This just may be the season to avoid those
steep shady slopes unless they have recently slid.
Click HERE
for a generalized snow profile graphic
Bottom Line (SLC,
The avalanche danger is MODERATE on slopes steeper than about 35
degrees, facing northwest thorough east.
While there are only localized areas where a person could trigger a
slide, if you do it will be large with serious consequences. The avalanche danger is LOW on
slopes less steep than about 35 degrees that are not below or adjacent to
steeper slopes.
Mountain Weather:
High pressure will be over
the area for the weekend, bringing clear skies and warming temperatures to the
northern mountains. Temperatures today should
warm to near 30 at 10,000’ and 40 at 8,000’.
Winds will be from the northwest, generally less than 15 mph. Wind speeds may occasionally be higher across
the tallest peaks. Colder, windy weather
is in store for Monday and Tuesday, with some light snow possible.
For more detailed weather
information visit the National Weather
Service web site.
Wasatch Powderbird Guides
flew in
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.
Drew Hardesty will update this advisory by 7:30 on Sunday
morning.
Thanks for calling!
________________________________________________________________________
For an explanation of
avalanche danger ratings: