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 18, 2006 7:30 am
Good afternoon, this is Brett Kobernik
with the
Current Conditions:
The most recent storm
provided some very tasty conditions in the backcountry on Monday. Storm totals in the Cottonwoods were 12 to 15
inches of snow and around an inch of water.
Partial cloud cover on Monday kept temperatures at bay and winds were
fairly calm.
Recent Avalanche Activity & Snowpack Discussion:
When the newest snow was
still cold, there was very minimal avalanche activity associated with it. By about 11 am things were changing and rollerballs were starting to form on south east facing
aspects. Also during this warming it was
possible to initiate avalanches in the snow that had become damp. Natural wet activity never played a serious
roll and human triggered wet slides were fairly minimal.
Heating will be the main
concern for the rest of the week. The
newest snow will still be sensitive to warming on Wednesday so you need to
start watching things as the morning progresses. Rollerballs are the
first sign that things are changing.
Southeast will change first then south and then southwest so plan your
travels accordingly. Also, if things
warm enough, steep northerly aspects may become active as well. Place slope cuts above any steep breakovers
to see if the snow is going to move. If
you are concerned with a slope that you think will slide, a lot of times you
can place a slope cut to clean it out then safely descend the bed surface.
Bottom Line:
Wet activity will be the main concern for the next few days. Move off of and out from under steep slopes
as the snow turns to glop during the day.
Mountain Weather:
For Wednesday we’ll see
temperatures warm to near or above freezing at 10,000 feet by the days
end. Winds will be light from the
northwest. High pressure continues for
the remainder of the week with temperatures really warming by Friday. The next chance for a storm looks like
Monday.
Announcements:
The Wasatch Powder Birds will use one of their 5 days they are permitted to fly
out of their normal season on Wednesday weather permitting. They’ll try for Mineral,
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
Special announcement:
The
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.
We will update this advisory as
conditions warrant. Stay tuned if you’re still recreating in the backcountry.