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

Saturday, February 11, 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 Saturday, February 11, 2006, and it’s about 7:30 am.

Current Conditions:

A dry cold front slipped through the state yesterday, and temperatures bottomed out in the single digits at most stations. The brisk northerly winds are averaging 10 to 20 mph, speeds in the 30’s across the highest peaks. Good recrystallized powder exists on sheltered, northerly facing slopes, with the challenge in finding untracked terrain. Other aspects will range from teeth chattering, rock hard crusts to breakable crusts this morning, both of which will soften with daytime heating. If you have impeccable timing and location choice, you may even be able to find corn-like skiing on supportable crusts as they warm.

Avalanche Conditions:

It’s been a quiet few days in the backcountry, with no new avalanches reported. The snow pack is mostly stable, with just a few things to watch for today. The moderate to strong northerly winds may have formed a few shallow wind drifts, mostly confined to the highest ridges. Just the sort of thing to knock you off your feet should you get surprised. Also, as temperatures warm, it may be possible to initiate small wet sluffs on steep, sunny slopes.

Bottom Line:

Though the avalanche danger is generally LOW today, isolated areas of instability may exist. A few new wind drifts may have formed along the higher ridgelines that a person could trigger on steep slopes and as the day heats up, it may be possible to trigger small wet sluffs on steep, sunny slopes.

Mountain Weather:

A high pressure ridge building in for the weekend will keep northern Utah under a dry, stable northerly flow. Temperatures will warm rapidly today, reaching the low 30’s at 8,000’ and the mid 20’s at 10,000’. The winds will be in the 10 to 15 mph range this morning, stronger across the highest peaks, before decreasing this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today, but with light winds and slightly warmer temperatures. The models are still advertising a pattern change for mid week, with a possibility of snow.

National Weather Service graphic Forecast.

Announcements:

Click here to check out our new online avalanche encyclopedia.

Early birds and snow geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.

You can find our mountain weather forecast here by about noon each day.

Click HERE for a text only version of the avalanche advisory.

To have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE.

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

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in Cardiff, Mineral and Lambs yesterday and today they will be in Cardiff, Mineral, Days, Silver, Lambs, Mill Creek and 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.

Drew Hardesty will update this advisory by 7:30 Sunday morning. Thanks for calling.