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
Tuesday,
November 13, 2007 2:00 pm
Good afternoon, this is
The ski areas
are still closed and are not doing any avalanche control work. You MUST
treat these areas as backcountry terrain with all the hazards of a backcountry
snowpack until they open for the season.
As a general rule, if there's enough snow to ski or ride on,
there's enough snow to avalanche. Even a loose snow avalanche can have bad
consequences early season if you’re raked through the rocks or over a
cliff. But overall, the avalanche danger
in the backcountry will be minimal until we get a decent storm.
Current Conditions:
Just
enough snow remains on the higher elevation, shady slopes that a bit of
cautious riding and turns can be made as long as you’re very careful to avoid the
barely concealed rocks. Exits and approaches may involve walking. The snow has weakened over the past dry weeks,
and is becoming less supportable.
Avalanche Discussion:
A quick hand
pit will show you the snowpack layering – mostly sugary, loose faceted snow to
the ground, with a few weakening crusts and older, dense layers still
around. Fortunately, many slopes are
bare or the snow is shallow enough to remain within terrain features and
anchors. Regrettably, the snow is deep
enough on some smooth, shady, upper elevation slopes that it will form a problem
weak layer once we get a decent storm. Now is a good time to map out the current
snow cover (or hopefully lack of snow cover) of your favorite haunts. There are a few very small storms in the
forecast, so each time we get a few inches of new snow, watch out for shallow loose
snow sluffs. If we get a bit more snow,
combined with wind, a few small soft slabs will be possible in wind drifted
areas. To catch up on the early
season, go to our archives here.
Mountain Weather:
The weather forecast for
the next week is not very encouraging, with the strong Pacific storms remaining
mostly to our north. A weak surface
front tonight could bring a few snow showers and cooler temperatures to the mountains
of northern
Announcements:
If you want to
get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
The UAC has job openings. Click HERE for info.
We are now issuing
avalanche statements as weather and snow conditions dictate for the beginning
of the 2007-2008 winter season. We are
in the office most days. 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.
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.