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,
April 04, 2006 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
Current Conditions:
Mountain temperatures
remained warm overnight with many 10,000 foot locations above freezing. Light rain is occurring at some mountain
locations. Ridgetop winds are from the
south in the 10 to 20 mph range.
Recent Avalanche Activity & Snowpack Discussion:
I am sad to report that the
third avalanche fatality in
Another very large cornice
cracked under the weight of a skier on top of Square Top near the Canyons ski
resort on Monday as well. Only a small
portion of it released and the skier was not caught. (PHOTO)
Also, a natural loose wet
slide triggered a larger soft slab avalanche near Elk Point on Monday. It was 2 to 4 feet deep and ran around 2000
feet. (PHOTO)
(Click here for more
details on all these slides)
(Click
here for more photos of avalanche activity from over the weekend, thanks to
Bob Athey)
Our main concern today is
going to be avalanche activity related to daytime heating. Expected rain up to 9000 feet won’t help
matters either. Wet avalanche activity
is tricky because it does not always occur when the warning signs are
there. Keep in mind however that you
will look foolish if you are caught and you new that temperatures had been in
the red light range even though you may not have seen any avalanche
activity.
You should continue to
avoid large cornices today as the warming temperatures will help to weaken the
already sensitive beasts. Also, I was
still able to get clean shears during snow stability tests yesterday which
indicates there is still some weakness from the last storm. You may find some pockets on high elevation
northerly aspects that still could pull out under the weight of a person.
Bottom Line:
Things are complex with many different problems we need to watch
for. The avalanche danger starts out MODERATE and will be on the rise during the day and will
most likely reach CONSIDERABLE.
Avalanche activity due to heating is the main concern but stay off of
large cornices and watch for possible avalanche activity within the most recent
layer of snow on high elevation northerly aspects.
Mountain Weather:
A winter storm is still on
the way. Today we’ll see periods of rain
up to around 9,000 feet. Temperatures at
8000 feet will be in the upper 40s and in the 30s at 10,000 feet. Winds will increase into the strong range
from the southwest as the day goes on.
We may see a little clearing this afternoon. The bulk of the storm will be Wednesday into Thursday
with snow levels dropping to near the valley floor. 2 to 3 inches of water equivalent is possible
which could produce upwards of 2 feet of snow in some locations.
Announcements:
Extreme skiing
pioneer Doug Coombs died in an avalanche in
Early birds and snow geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.
Click here to check out our new online avalanche
encyclopedia.
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
The Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not fly on Monday and won’t fly today. 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.
Evelyn Lees will update this
advisory by 7:30 Wednesday morning. Thanks for calling.