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
Tuesday,
January 24, 2006 7:30am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
A period of unexpected strong winds
headlines the news from yesterday.
Ridgetop winds blew in the 20 to 30 mph range from the northeast with
gusts into the 50s easily transporting loose snow into sensitive drifts. They have slowed and should continue to do so
for the rest of the day today.
Temperatures above about 8,000’ are on the rise and are into the mid to
upper 20s while lower elevations are in the teens.
Avalanche Conditions:
The loose snow on the surface was easily transported
into sensitive drifts on Monday. One
skier took an unexpected ride on a steep south facing slope after triggering
one of these drifts. He was carried
about 40 feet before he was able to stop as the 12 to 18 inch deep avalanche
continued on another 400 feet or so.
Another skier seeing an opportunity to test a fresh drift took it and
produced a SLIDE
8 to 12 inches deep on a south facing slope off of the
Excellent stability and snow conditions have provided
a period where we can venture into the more serious terrain without too much
worry. However, yesterday’s winds may
have ended this period as these upper elevation drifts may still be sensitive
today. Remember that if you are heading
into some of the more serious terrain today, you will more then likely be in
terrain that will have these fresh wind slabs.
The problem is not so much the chance of burial but the consequences of
getting raked over rocks, cliffs or through trees.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is MODERATE on steep upper
elevation terrain with fresh deposits of wind drifted snow. Southerly slopes are the most suspect but
watch for any cross loading on other aspects as well since mountainous terrain
can channel winds in unexpected directions.
Clear skies and warm temperatures could cause some heat related activity
on Southerly facing slopes as well. The
avalanche danger remains mostly LOW at mid and lower elevations.
Mountain Weather:
Today we’ll see mostly
clear skies with ridgetop temperatures into the mid 30s and ridgetop winds in
the 10 mph range from the east. A closed
low pressure system will feed some moisture up from the south Wednesday
afternoon with a slight chance for a snow shower.
The better chance for measurable
snow starts late Thursday with a few systems through the weekend.
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
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.
Evelyn Lees will
update this advisory by 7:30 Wednesday morning.
Thanks for calling.