| OCR Text |
Show ABR LLL Lu Wasatch Canyon Reporter Backcountry Snowpack Report From Big Cottonwood Warning- The Utah backcountry, while beautiful and filled with fantastic skiing, is a dangerous place filled with hazards for the uninitiated. The woods are as cold and lonely tonight as they were three hundred years ago. Call The Utah Avalanche Forecast Center (364-1581 in the Salt Lake Area) before each and every tour. You are responsible for your own life...accept that responsibility. While this will be a bi-monthly report we will have to start off with a recap of mountain weather for November. An above average temperature with below normal precipitation greeted us during November. A total of 23.8” of snow with 2.21” of water fell in the Brighton circle. Pretty meager compared to the 98” that fell last year during the same period. Both rain and suncrusts were prevalent through the snowpack. About the biggest concern was the lack of snow and slamming into a rock or stump in your favorite back country haunt. December tried to rebound with a storm cycle beginning on the 4th and ending on the 7th. Throughout the storm, temperatures and snow densities remained high. A total of 19” with 2.4” of water fell in upper Big Cottonwood. Snow densities were as high as 20%. Not our typical Utah powder that averages around 8%. To put all this water/snow equivalent into slightly more understandable terms: If you had 2” of snow with .20” of water your density would be 10%. 1” with .20” water would be 20%, etc. etc. The thing to keep in mind with all of this is that the more weight you add_to the snowpack in a short amount of time, the harder it is for the snowpack to adjust to this added stress. Fortunately the snow was well behaved and seemed to adjust to this weight, this time. Avalanche control work in Big Cottonwood released small pockets of slab, but they were isolated. Ski conditions improved mainly because the bulk of the snow we received was in the form of Grauple; the snow that looks like little Styrofoam balls. The Grauple made the conditions:"ta aty”” arid it was possible to be in the er “On safe, low angle slopes. " Alta Ski Lifts 801-742-3333 Number of lifts operating 70f8 Base Depth i | Cost of an all area adult ticket $25 COE) Saar cm tS Tonsnt oN 4 eed nton 2 Brighton's Snow Report Number 801-943-8309 Number of lifts operating Base Depth Cost of an all day ticket Gof? 44” $29 Night Skiing Available $20 fenging crust. Good skiing @uid’till be - found on the ee aspects. On December 12th an agarHeSsive storm approached the Wagatehy, Strong winds from the South: -Southwest averaged 30-50 mph, and gusted up'to 70 mph. Even without the cleating period before the storm there was enough snow for transport in the high winds. Eight inches of snow fell on the evening _ of the 12th, and into the morning of the 13th. The storm cleared out leaving prime wind loaded So conditions. 3 } True Tails from th oe ee Chumps ge Two Snowboarders discovered the precafi “of the snow pack when they attempted to ride a steep vw Snowbird's Phone Number 801-142-2222 NumberofliftsOpen § 90f9) Mid Mountain Depth = == 48” | aes SNS FullDayliftPass feet. Both i ey avalanche transceivers, no need unscathed, shovels, even fae skiing they made simultaneously, numerous ignorance backcountry ertors. “Ed. of snowpack conditions, Note- : éties of linked turns. - Craig br No don... WG | circ ‘Solitude’s Phone Number 801-534-1400 Number of lifts Operating § = 7of7 Mid Mountain Depth Reports from Around the Country: Tahoe by Dave Doherty Alas, the gods have answered to our pleas for the magical white stuff we call snow. As of 11:00 a.m. on _ December | it is snowing over an inch an hour with an expected two feet before The storm lets up. Two days ago The North Tahoe region received 6 inches at lake level with over 20 inches at 7000 feet. Prior to This week. Tahoe has seen very little snow except for the higher elevations. After one of the driest summers on record, Tahoe locals were wondering if old man winter would come before Christmas. Several of The ski areas made futile attempts to open for Thanksgiving only to see hopes disappear. There wasn’t any natural snow, and the weather was too warm to fire up the snow guns. To make matters worse, when the precipitation did come it was in the form of rain with 100 mile per hour winds thrown in. The past few weeks in Tahoe have been so depressing that some first year residents have oe up hope and packed their bags. Many locals including myself have been road tripping to Colorado in search of skiing. Unemployment has skyrocketed in the area and most people I know are only surviving by maxxing out the credit cards. This is not the way to start off a season where you only make seven dollars an hour. Less than one week ago the mountain biking conditions have been better than they were all summer But who wants to be mountain biking in December when you should be skiing? This time last year we were tip to our waists in powder. _ Instead, we have been up to our waists in lousy daytime talk shows, Top Ramen, and cheap beer to drown our sorrows. © , It is often difficult working in an industry’ where you are subject to the forces of mother nature. Even though Squaw Valley is open right now, the upper lifts are closed today due to wind. But it won’t be long before the season is in full — Our Christmas wishes have been answered and we will ultimately have a white _ Christmas. Page 2. $M failure to report a slide or notify others that they were safe, just to name a few. A crown profile revealed that the weak layer was an interface between a crust that developed in November and recrystalized Grauple from another storm. The slide was a hard slab 3’-3.5’ deep and 150’ across, and ran 300-400 feet. Lucky boys! What is tricky now is the little dribs and drabs of snow we are receiving Three inches here and 5” there. These are the types of snow iefthe big ones, but the snow pack remembers all of them. The that we tend to forget about. We seem to reme ght. It looks to be a year to be ony yo our toes. May your days weak and tricky layers aren’t going to disappe in the backcountry be safe and blend together - — Full Day Lift Pass 40” $32 Other terribly important phone numbers: Avalanche Info: 364.1581 Extended Info: 364.1591 Snow Report: 521.8102 Road Conditions: 964.6000 Weather: 575.7669 Exact Time: 1.900.410. TIME |
