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

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 7:30am
Good morning, this is Evelyn Lees with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Wednesday, January 25, 2006, and it’s about 7:30 am.

Current Conditions:

Skies are partly cloudy this morning, and the southeasterly winds picked up overnight. They are averaging 25 to 30 mph, with gusts in the 40’s. Temperatures cooled off from yesterday sizzling 40’s, and most stations are below freezing this morning, in the low 20’s to low 30’s. Very good recrystalized powder does exist on untracked, wind sheltered shady slopes, but challenging conditions are more the norm. Breakable sun crusts are widespread, and old tracks and random wind slabs will trip you up when you least expect.

Avalanche Conditions:

Yesterday’s sudden plunge into spring made wet sluffs the avalanche problem of the day. Natural wet loose sluffs occurred on steep sunny slopes in the Salt Lake, Park City and Provo area mountains, and there was one skier triggered slide on a steep SW facing slope in upper White Pine. While quite shallow to start, it entrained enough snow to run 750 vertical feet, with lots of punch and a debris pile that you wouldn’t want to tangle with. The combination of today’s clouds, wind and cooler temperatures should put a lid on most wet activity, but if the snow gets warm and sloppy where you are, avoid steep slopes and move to a cooler aspect.

Yesterday, the old wind slabs seemed stubborn and unreactive, sometimes cracking out beneath the weight of a person, but not moving far. But today’s winds will produce a fresh batch of drifts that may be more sensitive. So as usual, watch out for and avoid any wind deposits on steep slopes.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with fresh drifts of wind blown snow, which will be most common at mid and upper elevations. Out of the wind affected terrain, the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

Mountain Weather:

A low pressure system approaching southern Utah will bring high thin clouds over the north this morning. The clouds will increase and thicken this afternoon, with a chance for a few snow flurries late today and tonight. Temperatures at 8,000’ will warm into the mid 40’s once again today, while at 10,000’ they will remain in the mid 20’s. The southeasterly winds will continue to blow in the 15 to 30 mph range across the higher ridges and peaks. A series of small Pacific storms will move across northern Utah beginning late Thursday, with the best chance for snow on Friday.

Announcements:

Early birds and snow geeks can catch our 6AM report at 364-1591.

Our mountain weather forecast can be found here by about noon each day.

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, 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 Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, which is updated as needed. 801-975-4838.

Yesterday the Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in Cardiff, Days, Mineral, Grizzly, AF, the Sessions, and Lambs Canyon. Today, they’ll be in Cardiff, Days, Mineral, Grizzly, AF, the Sessions, Lambs, Porter, Alexander, Wilson and Cascade. 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.

Bruce Tremper will update this advisory by 7:30 Thursday morning. Thanks for calling.