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
“keeping
you on top”
AVALANCHE ADVISORY
Thursday,
October 18, 2007 2:00 pm
Good evening, this is Brett Kobernik with
the
We are now issuing
avalanche statements as weather and snow conditions dictate for the beginning of
the 2007-2008 winter season. We will be
in the office on and off over the next few weeks as well. You can reach us by calling 524 5304 or
e-mail us at [email protected]. Keep in mind it may take a few days if you are
looking for a return message.
Current Conditions:
The last
storm that started Tuesday produced 10 to 20” of medium density snow depending
on elevation and aspect. Temperatures
during the storm were cold and were accompanied by some strong wind speeds at
the higher elevations from the west northwest.
The new snow lies directly on the ground below around 8800’ and lies on
some old snow from earlier in the month at the higher elevations. There is now enough snow for a number of
people to start recreating in and consequently we need to start thinking
avalanches. Click
here for some early season reminders.
Avalanche Discussion:
My field day today was quite pleasurable and non eventful. I was able to find some slight weakness
within the new snow and saw evidence of some small loose snow avalanches that occurred
during the storm. Click
here for more details from my day. The most interesting observation was some
rippled snow which shows that the winds were indeed blowing at some point
during the storm. This can cause large
deposits of snow on the lee sides of ridges that can be sensitive. A group found one of these areas today high
on Mt Baldy and triggered an impressive avalanche. No one was caught in it. It was estimated at around 200’ wide and
possibly up to 4’ deep. Click
here for photos and a few details.
While many areas did
not get affected by the wind it is obvious that you should approach these upper
elevation northerly facing slopes that did with caution. Check to see if the snow depth is much deeper
then other areas you’ve been traveling in by inverting your ski pole and inserting
it through the snow. Always pay
attention to cracking of the snow while you travel through it. Don’t be the first to end up on our accident
page this year. Try to combat early
season “powder fever” with wise decision making. Needless to say that there
are plenty of hidden rocks and stumps within the thin snowpack to watch for as
well.
Mountain Weather:
Northwest winds are
now picking up along the upper ridgelines gusting into the mid 40s. Winds will shift to a more southerly
direction on Friday with temperatures warming quite a bit. This may affect the recent snow so watch for rollerballing which is an indicator that things are getting
wet. The
focus is on another storm scheduled for Saturday which should bring some more
snow the high country. Fairly good
dynamics, a half inch to an inch of water and cold temps in a northwest flow should
produce at least another 6” if not more.
Things taper off on Sunday with a ridge building for most of the week
which will warm temperatures dramatically. However, models do show somewhat of storm at
the end of next week. It’s a bit too far
out to bank on that though.
Announcements:
UDOT highway avalanche
control work info can be found HERE
or by calling (801)
975-4838.
Our
statewide tollfree line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).
For our classic text
advisory click HERE.
We appreciate any snowpack and
avalanche observations we’ve been getting, so if your
getting out there give us a call and leave 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.
We will more then
likely update this advisory again during the weekend if conditions warrant.