Wasatch Cache National Forest
In partnership with: Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department of Emergency Services and Homeland Security and Salt Lake County.

 

AVALANCHE ADVISORY

Thursday, January 12, 2006  7:30am
Good morning, this is Evelyn Lees with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Thursday, January 12, 2006, and it’s about 7:30 am.

Check out our new graphical advisory format.  You can update your bookmarks to this link:
http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/newadvisory/advisory.php

 

Current Conditions:
A winter storm raced through the Wasatch overnight, leaving a decent shot of snow in it’s wake.  The Logan and most of the Ogden area mountains received a generous foot, the Cottonwoods about 9”, with snow amounts then tapering to 5 to 8” on the Park City side and 3” at the mid elevations in the Provo mountains.  Winds have been moderate to strong throughout the storm, ranging from the southwest to northwest.  Currently, the winds are averaging 15 mph with gusts into the 30’s at most stations, though across the highest peaks, averages are still in the 40’s.  The dense, but loose, cold powder should make for very good turning and riding conditions in wind sheltered terrain, especially on shady slopes with underlying soft snow.  The terrain along the higher ridgelines and in open bowls is wind affected. 

Avalanche Conditions:
It’s all or nothing today.  In wind sheltered terrain, there will be well behaved powder that is generally well bonded to the old snow.  In this terrain the avalanche danger is generally low; though do expect some sluffing of the new snow on steep slopes.

It will be a different story in the more wind exposed terrain.  In both mid and upper elevation terrain, the strong winds have blown the new snow into sensitive drifts one to two feet deep that should be easy to trigger on steep slopes.  The fresh drifts of snow will be both along the ridges and down off the ridgelines, cross loaded around terrain features such as gully walls, sub ridges and breakovers.  The dense drifts may be pockety in nature due to the gusty winds, and cornices could be sensitive.

Bottom Line: (Salt Lake, Park City and Provo mountains)

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on any steep slope with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.  The wind drifts are most widespread along the exposed ridgelines and in mid and upper elevation terrain.  Out of the wind affected terrain, the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

OGDEN area mountains: The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on all slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, especially with recent drifts of wind blown snow.  Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible.

 

Mountain Weather:

A few light snow showers and locally strong winds across the highest peaks will continue early this morning.  Then the air mass will stabilize, and skies will become mostly clear and the northwesterly winds decreasing to less than 15 mph by afternoon.  Temperatures will be in the mid teens at 10,000’ and the upper 20’s at 8,000’.  Friday will be mostly sunny and much warmer, with 10,000’ highs in the low 30’s.  A couple more storms are lined up to affect northern Utah, with the first to arrive Saturday night.  

 

Other mountain weather information can be found here.

Regional Snow Profile (this profile can also be found daily off our home page under avalanche products)

Click here for Seasonal Weather History Charts.

 

Announcements and Miscellaneous:

 

3rd Annual Backcountry Awareness Week Monday Jan 30-Sunday February 5
Fundraising Dinner February 3rd at 6pm with speakers Conrad Anker and Apa Sherpa.  For more info, go to www.backcountryawareness.com or call Snowbird at 933-2147.

To have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE.  (You must re-sign up this season even if you were on the list last season.)

UDOT also has a highway avalanche control work hotline for Little Cottonwood road, which is updated as needed. 801-975-4838.

The Wasatch Powderbird Guides was in Days Fork yesterday, and today when it clears they will be in Cardiff, Days, Silver, and Grizzly with a second ship in American Fork or the Sessions.  For more info, call 742-2800.

Please report any backcountry snow and avalanche conditions.  Call (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, email [email protected] or fax 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.

Brett Kobernik will update this advisory by 7:30 Friday morning.  Thanks for calling.