Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains | Issued by Bruce Tremper for April 15, 2013 - 6:41am |
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Above 9,500 ft.
8,000-9,500 ft.
Below 8,000 ft.
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bottom line Most of the problems will be within the new snow.
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special announcement We have ended our regular morning advisories for the season but I will issue intermittent advisories as conditions warrant until about the end of April for the Salt Lake region only. I will still post observations from you each evening and early morning as well, so if you're getting out, please let everyone in our community know what you find. Most of the rest of our staff is off for the season--or will be soon as soon as some projects are completed and most of the ski resorts are closed for the season, so your feedback and observations are important. We'd like to thank everyone for their support this season. We couldn't do this without the support of our non-profit Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center with Paul Diegel as the Executive Director. We've had much support from our world class mountain resorts, UDOT, our many pro observers, and, of course, you - skiers and riders, snowshoers, and snowmobilers, all passionate about the Greatest Snow on Earth. Thanks. A memorial service to celebrate the life of Craig Patterson will take place Thursday, April 18th at 10am at the Albion Grill, Alta. Photos of Craig are welcome. In lieu of gifts or flowers, please contribute to the Craig Patterson Memorial Fund at any Key Bank. Or checks can be sent to the Craig Patterson Memorial Fund 520 Crestview Dr Park City, UT 84098.
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current conditions As my 96-year-old Czech mother-in-law says, "Spring is always a fight between winter and summer." Winter will win the fight for the next few days with a broad, cold trough over the western U.S. and cold, unsettled air over us. As is usually the case, the day after the ski areas close for the season, we get a good snowstorm. Overnight, the upper elevations got 3-7 inches of new snow. Winds stayed relatively tame. Temperatures are in the mid to lower 20's. As always, check the Snow Page for more details. |
recent activity There was no significant activity from yesterday. There was some minor activity on south facing slopes reported by Bruce Engelhard yesterday in the Brighton perimeter. The Uinta Mountains still have lots of shallow, weak snow at upper elevations as evidenced by Ted Scroggin's report from 2 days ago from Lofty Lake. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 9,500 ft.
8,000-9,500 ft.
Below 8,000 ft.
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description
Today through Wednesday, we will have the usual problems that come with spring storms. With the exception of the Uinta Mountains, we don't expect that any of the avalanches will break into deeper layers. So what you see is what you get. Most of the problems will be within the new snow. Watch for: If you're headed to the Uinta Mountains, remember they always have a more unstable snowpack with the potential to break into deeper, persistent weak layers so the avalanche danger is almost always a notch higher on the scale than for the Wasatch Range. HERE is Sunday's advisory for the western Uintas. |
weather We will have cold, unstable air over the western U.S. until about Wednesday. Most of the energy for this storm will head into southern Utah but we will be left with relatively light snow showers over the next several days. Since this report will be updated only on an intermittent basis, be sure to consult the latest National Weather Service forecasts: Cottonwood Canyons Forecast, which you can find on the Snow Page. Always check your local NWS weather forecast, for example, here is the one for Alta. You can click on any spot in the state for a local forecast. You can also click on the satellite loops, radar loops or the hourly weather graph in the lower right of any forecast.
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general annoucements If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks. Salt Lake and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322) Twitter Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE. UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838 Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet. Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work. For a print version of this advisory click HERE. This advisory is produced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. Specific terrain and route finding decisions should always be based on skills learned in a field-based avalanche class. |