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Avalanche advisory
Friday, February 11,
2005
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with the
I will be giving a
free avalanche awareness talk at the SLC Milosport tonight at 7pm. There will even be some free swag awarded at
the end for answering some random avalanche questions.
Current Conditions:
This morning you may still find some decent powder on northerly aspects. Current ridgetop temperatures are in the mid
twenties and winds are picking up from the south in the 15 to 20 mph
range. Conditions will change this
afternoon as the freezing level will rise to around 9,000 feet. Very wet snow will start falling this
afternoon as well.
Avalanche Conditions:
The biggest concern today is any
fresh slab formation on upper elevation terrain. I received a few reports from Thursday of
some slab avalanches that released both naturally and from human
triggers. The moderate wind speeds
over the last 48 hours helped drift the snow into some sensitive slabs along
the ridges. Just the settlement of the
new snow is forming slabs in some locations as well. I describe this problem as manageable for
experienced travelers but it could surprise someone who doesn’t recognize fresh
slab formation.
Next, with warm weather in the
forecast, people should avoid steeper terrain in the lower elevations
today. Wet snow may avalanche and pile
up in terrain traps. Today would not be
the day to boot hike up the “Y” couloir for instance.
Also, we should start thinking
of what’s going to happen if we add some more snow to our snowpack. The light density snow that’s on the surface
has changed into a weak structure known as “faceted” snow. The addition of new heavy density snow on top
of the current surface completes the recipe for a slab which is a stronger
layer of snow over a weaker layer. Quick
hand pits and various stability tests should easily reveal slab formation if it
forms over the weekend. Watch for
cracking in the new snow as this is Mother Nature yelling at you that a slab is
present.
Bottom Line (
The avalanche danger is generally LOW today. There remains a MODERATE
danger on upper elevation steep slopes where the newest snow formed a slab,
especially on wind drifted slopes. The
danger of wet activity will increase to MODERATE at
the lower elevations as temperatures will be above freezing most of the day. Keep in mind that the
avalanche danger may rise dramatically over the weekend with the addition of
dense new snow and wind.
Mountain Weather:
This morning we’ll see partly cloudy skies with increasing clouds as the day
progresses. 10,000’ temperatures will be
at about 30 degrees with 8,000 foot temperatures at 40. Winds will be in the 15 to 20 mph range from
the south. Precipitation should start
late this afternoon with the rain snow line around 8,000 feet. The mountains should pick up a few inches of
snow overnight and another 3 to 6 inches on Saturday. This will be very dense snow with up to an
inch of water expected in the Cottonwoods.
The
The weather for next week
looks to be quite active with a moist westerly flow affecting the area
throughout the week.
Yesterday, Wasatch Powderbird
guides flew in
We really appreciate any
information you are willing to give us.
You don’t have to be an avalanche expert to give us some observations so
please call and leave a message on our answering machine at 524-5304 or
1-800-662-4140, or e-mail us at [email protected].
Our partner The
Friends of the
The Friends of the
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 by 7:30 on Saturday morning.
Thanks for calling
For an explanation of avalanche danger ratings:
http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/ed-scale.htm