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
AVALANCHE ADVISORY
Monday,
January 23, 2006 7:30am
Good morning, this is Drew Hardesty with
the
Current Conditions:
Skies are
clear and conditions in the backcountry continue to be phenomenal. Under these stable weather conditions, mountain
temperatures have started to become inverted with cool air pooling into the drainages
and mountain basins. Lower elevation
temperatures this morning are flirting below zero while higher elevations have
comparatively balmy temps in the upper single digits. The northwest
winds along the most exposed ridgelines picked up overnight to average 25mph
with gusts to 35, to which terrain below 11,000’ is oblivious. Snow
surfaces are now crusted on many mid and low elevation, south through west
facing slopes, but remain excellent on the other aspects.
Avalanche Conditions:
While the snowpack remains mostly stable, a couple of relatively
minor problems have surfaced in the past 12-24 hours. First, those traveling along the highest
elevations may see some soft slab development just off the lee ridgelines. They should be soft and manageable and less
than a foot or so deep and be reactive to a good slope cut. Sluffing of the surface snow, too, will
become more likely on the steep, shady slopes today and tomorrow. It’s a double edged sword. Under these weather conditions, the diurnal recrystallization
of the surface snow makes for continued excellent riding conditions, but forms
weak, cohesionless sugar snow which can sluff more easily now and make for a
good weak layer later when buried under the next storm. Lastly, watch for increased wet activity on
the sun-exposed slopes during the heat of the day.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is mostly LOW. Both dry and wet sluff avalanches will start
to become a bit more of a problem on the steepest slopes. An isolated MODERATE
danger of new wind drifts exists on steep upper elevation southwest through east
facing slopes.
Mountain Weather:
We’ll have clear
skies, and light to moderate northerly winds today. 8000’ highs will reach into the low thirties
while 10,000’ temps continue their upward march into the low twenties. The ridge will build through at least Wednesday
with a couple of storms possible for the weekend. Model confidence
for these storms is not high.
Announcements:
Early birds and snow
geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.
Our mountain weather
forecast can be found here
by about noon each day.
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.
Check out our new graphical advisory format. You can update your bookmarks to this link:
http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/newadvisory/advisory.php
Click HERE for a text only
version of the avalanche advisory.
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 Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, which is updated as needed.
801-975-4838.
Yesterday
the Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in American Fork and White Pine. Today, they’ll hit AF, the Sessions, Lambs,
and White Pine. 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 Tuesday morning. Thanks for calling.