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.

AVALANCHE ADVISORY

Sunday, January 22, 2006 7:30am
Good morning, this is Drew Hardesty with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Sunday, January 22, 2006, and it’s about 7:30 am.

Current Conditions:

We picked up another couple inches of light density snow during the day and I’m sorry to break the news but you might have to wait a whole five days for the next storm. Skies are overcast this morning, but things will clear out by midday. Winds are light and northerly with mountain temperatures in the single digits. South and west facing slopes have a few inches over a thin suncrust while northerly slopes are divine.

Avalanche Conditions:
I’ll have to echo Brett’s sentiments from yesterday…it really is quite amazing to have such excellent conditions in the backcountry without much monkey business going on in the mid-pack. Quite a different scenario altogether from last season.

Nonetheless, a few observers were able to intentionally ski cut some shallow 8-10” by 20-40’ wide soft slabs in very steep terrain along the highest elevations. We’ve heard about just three of these in the past two days, with one skier taking a short ride in radical terrain in mid-Big Cottonwood Canyon. Folks heading into every nook and cranny of the Wasatch will want to keep tabs on a couple problems for today… that odd pockety shallow soft slab running on a weak interface between the mid-week storms…and the increasing sluff potential on the steep shady slopes in the soon-to-be-weakening surface snow. The sun might produce some minor, shy, wet activity on the sunny slopes for the afternoon, but I suspect that this will be more of a player tomorrow. The final public service announcement revolves around ‘ski-mountaineering’ terrain and consequences. Old-timers and new schoolers pushing things into more radical terrain should remember that even a shallow soft slab or sluff that pulls you off your feet can have disastrous consequences.

Bottom Line:

Most areas have a LOW avalanche danger. A localized MODERATE danger exists on steep upper elevation slopes confined mostly to north through southeast aspects.

Mountain Weather:

Overcast conditions will soon give way to partly cloudy skies for yet another amazing day in the Wasatch. Winds will continue to be light and from the northeast. 8000’ highs will reach the low twenties with 10,000’ temps in the single digits. A ridge of high pressure will build in through Thursday with a couple good storms possible for Friday and Sunday.

Announcements:

3rd Annual Backcountry Awareness Week Monday Jan 30-Sunday February 5
Fundraising Dinner February 3rd at 6pm with speakers Conrad Anker and Apa Sherpa. For more info, go to www.backcountryawareness.com or call Snowbird at 933-2147.

Check out our new graphical advisory format. You can update your bookmarks to this link:
http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/newadvisory/advisory.php

Click HERE for a text only version of the avalanche advisory.

To have this advisory automatically e-mailed to you each day, click HERE. (You must re-sign up this season even if you were on the list last season.)

UDOT also has a highway avalanche control work hotline for Little Cottonwood road, which is updated as needed. 801-975-4838.

Yesterday the Wasatch Powderbird Guides didn’t get out, but today will fly in American Fork, Lamb’s, and the Sessions, with a home run out White Pine. For more info, call 742-2800.

Please report any backcountry snow and avalanche conditions. Call (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, email uac@avalanche.org 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.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 Monday morning. Thanks for calling.