25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains | Issued by Drew Hardesty for Monday - December 18, 2017 - 5:41am |
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special announcement Based on conditions, we will be issuing intermittent advisories. The next update will be Wednesday the 20th of December. Check out the blog Avalanche Fatalities During Uphill Travel. Backcountry travelers need a clear focus on evaluating terrain during their ascent, as well as their descents. |
current conditions Skies are mostly cloudy with mountain temperatures in the mid-20s. West to northwest winds blow 5-10mph with gusts to 15. The highest elevation anemometers are averaging 20mph with gusts to 25. I may have had as many field days in mountain boots and gaiters as I have had on skis this winter. Still, the mountains were glorious yesterday with their thin coat of paint. It's still good to get out. Total snow on the ground on shady, upper elevation slopes is around 1 to 2 feet, and becoming less supportable in the shallower snowpack areas. Sunny slopes are a mix of crusty snow and bare ground, and there’s only patchy snow below 8,500’. View the latest observations here. |
recent activity None. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
Though the avalanche danger is LOW, small avalanches can still be triggered in isolated places or extreme terrain. If you’re heading to the tops of the highest peaks today, watch for and avoid any shallow, new or old wind drifts, which could be cross-loaded onto a variety of aspects. The snowpack on the shady slopes consists of weak crusts and sugary faceted snow. This is a concern for the future when we finally get snow. For now, it’s amazing just to dig your hand into the snow and see how loose and weak it is. Tyler Falk has an excellent photo of the snowpack below. Below that, forecaster Greg Gagne (on the UAC Instagram page) keeps photos and notes for what lies ahead (put your cursor on Greg's pic and then look for the arrow on the right to scroll through his pics.)
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weather High pressure will again build into the region ahead of a a very cold system arriving Wednesday afternoon. Until then, mountain temperatures will be in the upper 20s to low 30s; winds will be west to northwesterly at 15-20mph. West to southwest winds will pick up later Tuesday into early Wednesday ahead of the cold front (see below), with mountain temperatures plunging to the single digits by early Thursday. Hit play on the animation and watch the arrival of the cold front with a sharp wind shift from the southwest to the northwest on Wednesday. An optimistic 8-14" may look like something, but it'll be very low density. Another colder system potentially on track for later Friday. The winter solstice arrives 930am Thursday - maybe this'll mark a transition to true winter. |
general announcements
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