Bulletin d’avalanche

Skyline

Émis le Jan 1, 2022valide jusqu’au Jan 2, 2022Utah Avalanche Center

Danger d’avalanche

Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière

Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 5 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

TODAY IS A LIKELY DAY FOR AN AVALANCHE ACCIDENT!! CONDITIONS REMAIN VERY DANGEROUS. DON'T LET THE AWESOME FRESH POWDER CLOUD YOUR JUDGEMENT. STICK TO MEADOWS AND LOW ANGLE TERRAIN UNTIL CONDITIONS STABILIZE.

The avalanche danger remains HIGH on the Manti Skyline especially on mid and upper elevation northwest, north and northeast facing slopes where there is old weak snow at the base of the snowpack.

Problèmes avalancheux

Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpin
Limite forestière
Sous la limite forestière
Probabilité
Very Likely
Taille
5
The new snow instabilities and fresh wind drifts will stabilize fairly rapidly. I didn't note any obvious signs of instability within the new snow on Friday. However, with the absurd amount of new snow, I'd give it some time before hitting it hard.

The trickier situation is the persistent weak layer of sugary faceted snow at the base of the snowpack. This will stabilize and strengthen but it takes time. Here is what I'm looking for to show me things have stabilized:

A large storm with no natural avalanches.

Snow stability tests cannot be fracturing clean on the weak layer. There can be no propagation through the weak layer.

A DISTINCT INCREASE in hand hardness of the weak layer. In other words, I need to see the weak layer get stiffer when I press my hand into it.

I'm pretty confident that the weak snow at the base will strengthen fairly soon and we'll have a nice stable snowpack. However, TODAY IS DEFINITELY NOT THE DAY TO START GETTING ONTO STEEP SLOPES.

Avalanche Warning

AN AVALANCHE WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF MUCH OF THE STATE OF UTAH, INCLUDING THE WASATCH RANGE...BEAR RIVER RANGE...UINTA MOUNTAINS...THE MANTI-SKYLINE ...THE FISH LAKE REGION…PAHVANTS…TUSHARS…AND THE CEDAR CITY AREA MOUNTAINS.

THE AVALANCHE DANGER IS HIGH FOR THE WARNING AREA AND TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

HEAVY SNOWFALL AND STRONG WINDS HAVE CREATED DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS. BEING CAUGHT IN ANY AVALANCHE IS LIKELY TO BE UNSURVIVABLE. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.

Snow and Weather

Current Conditions

Unbelievable. Another foot of low density powder snow fell on the Skyline in the last 24 hours. Favored locations picked up double that. Storm totals since December 23 are somewhere in the range of 60 to 80 inches of snow containing 6 to 8 inches of water. This is the largest storm event that I have seen in my forecasting experience on the Skyline since 2012. Wind has died off and temperatures are frigid with most locations around 0˚F.

Riding conditions are top notch. You need to know how to handle DEEP POWDER or you'll be stuck. But, the snowpack is "right side up" meaning that there is fluff on the surface with more supportable snow down deeper.

Mountain Weather

The series of storm systems is over. We're left with some lingering low level clouds that may persist through the day. Temperatures remain in the low single digits today. Northwest wind will be moderate in speed along the ridges and should slow during the day. Temperatures rebound dramatically on Sunday with clear skies and light west wind. We get a break for a few days from the snowfall. The next small storm looks like it is shaping up for mid week.