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.

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AVALANCHE ADVISORY

Tuesday, December 26, 2006  7:30 am
Good morning, this is Brett Kobernik with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Tuesday, December 26, 2006 and it’s 7:30 in the morning. 

 

Current Conditions:

Under cloudy skies, ridgetop temperatures remain fairly warm and are in the mid to upper 20s.  Ridgetop winds are blowing in the 10 to 20mph range gusting into the 30s and 40s at the more exposed locations.

 

Snowpack and Avalanche Conditions:

No avalanche activity was reported from Christmas day, however, a few people did note some collapsing under foot with one person reporting a crack opening up.  This is an indicator of a few “booby traps” that are lingering.  Areas that have a thin snowpack are the likely places for a pocket to pull out.  This was the case with an avalanche that ran on the 24th which may have been remotely triggered from some skiers in the Home Run near The Canyons ski resort (PHOTO1, PHOTO2).  Faceted snow most likely from early December was the weak layer.  It should be noted that this area was not influenced from the recent wind events a whole lot.  However, lingering wind slabs that formed over the last few days are also a concern for today.  (Photos from avalanches on Scott Hill)  (December Weather Chart)  Ski resorts in the Park City area were still getting these to release with explosives on the 25th.  The moderate winds in the forecast for today may form some fresh drifts as well.

 

Bottom Line for the Salt Lake, Park City, Ogden and Provo area mountains:

While many areas have a generally LOW danger, ridgeline areas with recent wind loaded snow as well as thin snowpack areas have a pockety MODERATE danger.  Slope angles need to be fairly steep to get an avalanche to run and must be at least 35 degrees in steepness.

 

Mountain Weather:

Today we’ll see cloudy skies with mild temperatures and moderate winds picking up slightly throughout the day.  Ridgetop temperatures will be in the upper 20s and ridgetop winds will be from a westerly direction in the 10 to 20 mph range gusting into the 30s and 40s at the more exposed locations.  We should get a small shot of snow tonight into Wednesday then a slightly better chance Wednesday night into Thursday.

 

Announcements:

Yesterday, the Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not fly and most likely won’t today but will try for the northern powder circuit plus American Fork and White Pine.

 

The Rescue Training Center at the Canyons Resort is up and running now at the top of the gondola.  

 

Listen to the advisory.  Try our new streaming audio or podcasts

Our new, state wide tollfree hotline is 1-888-999-4019.
(For early morning detailed avalanche activity report hit option 8)

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We appreciate any snowpack and avalanche observations you have, so please leave us a message at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at [email protected]. (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.

Bruce Tremper will update this advisory by 7:30 on Wednesday morning, and thanks for calling.