Wasatch Conditions 09-10

[marauders]

Pure beauty. That's a fine pic.

[Christopher3000]

Hey uh, if any of the 30 or so other people up on Baldy on Sunday afternoon came across a pair of white Smith sunglasses, I lost a pair somewhere near the top of that hellacious skinner.

[Xover]

u r a dumbphuck

that is all CC

[alto]

Gnarwhale I say GODDAAAAMN!!!!

[motionboy]

Looking to head up something around 5AM but have not been up in LCC for 2 weeks. What's the Beta on what's skiing well? Anybody up by Superior or Supreme today that can give me a report? Trying to get out before I head to Boise for T-day... please take pity.

[mph]

Went up the summer road at Alta this morning. Topped out on Point Supreme...Nothing to crazy the but snow was still soft. A few rocks peeking out on the up/down skin track. A nice groomed slope to finish it off all the way to the parking lot. We need snow...it will come...I think it was 2 years ago that there wasn't any snow on the ground during T-Day holiday. A week or so later it started to snow and didn't stop. I think it was Alta's 3rd snowiest winter on record.

It will come...Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Slaag Master]

yeah. which steakhouse?

[skifishbum]

A couple pics and obs from the upper bcc
first I observed a certain uac guy working hard to skin into a thinly covered
Millie bowl to lay down a fine patch of Wanye Wong Wiggle turns

TLP & Wolvie

some turns on Patsy M, tlp proper, stupid chute and the THC apron.
MT. Millicent looking thin

Good turns/coverage and bonding but plenty of surface hoar on upper EGP. Less so on lower E facing exit down to silver lake.

[Trackhead]

Happy Turkey Day Maggots!

Today I'm thankful that Snowbird (private land) allows uphill traffic, and ironically the public land (Alta) does not. Alta still sucks after all these years

I'm thankful for Dynafits, carbon fiber rockered skis and heel lifters.

[skifishbum]

^^^^ I'm most thankful for good bc partners who make bc skiing safer and more enjoyable like you Strong post here so I thought I'd bump it

You should take an avi 1, and link up with people you meet in your class to go skiing. There is an interesting social dynamic involved in making BC skiing partnerships; much trust is implicit between long-term touring partners, which makes decision making very easy, and often unspoken. People who've been skiing together for a while know how well their partners keep track of snowpack development, recent avalanche incidents, and they often take a similar approach to terrain. I generally take a more conservative approach to my turns in the backcountry, because I see no reason to rush powder skiing, and because I know there are hightened risks associated with skiing away from resorts. My primary ski touring partners have a similar MO, and I enjoy skiing with them so much because I know what they're comfortable with, and that they aren't out there to practice for their next ski movie segment. They know the same things about me. If you are able to find people here on TGR who will take you out touring, you're very lucky, but I'd suggest that you make friends in LCC/SLC first and then find touring partners within your social circle.

Until you have a firm handle on what constitutes appropriate terrain choices in certain snowpack conditions, stay out of larger backcountry terrain until there is a good base and a strong lower snowpack. Also, consider taking a big step back from what you consider fun skiing; a lot of bread and butter Wasatch BC terrain looks very boring to a lot of young, strong resort skiers who just moved here, but going straight to wolverine cirque once you figure out your new alpine trekkers (and before you snap them in half) because you saw it in a ski movie would be very stupid. And you will be tempted to do so when the Supreme lift opens. Obviously, 15 degree grassy slopes with ten inches of old snow are safe nearly all the time, but once there's enough snow to get into more complex terrain around here, we'll probably see a significant avalanche cycle thanks to the junk resident in places where there's currently more snow.

The guy I toured with yesterday was the same guy that strapped a beacon to me (after he made me practice) and laughed his ass of as I stuggled to do 2 laps up butthead aspens wearing a fartbag, mickey mouse boots, snow shoes, skinny ass skis and boots strapped to my pack a decade ago.
Since it's the holiday season and I found 7 firstaid kits in the garage the first bc jong that takes the time to get firstaid and cpr certified can have one.

[Trackhead]

Did the "five wide" skin track up Snowbird this morning.


More blow than snow at the top, but all smiles anyway.


The groomers were fun with about 2-4" of new, but the reality for touring outside the ski areas is more like this.


Fun day anyway, all smiles. It'll come, eventually.

[skifishbum]

^^^^ dynafit gloves sweet are they super light weight and cost $100 I need a pair my marker gloves keep falling off my hands
Skinned up to the cirque at the bird with the mrs. yesterday quite variable snow and single digit temps. Nice to see the National brotherhood of skiers in town. I so covet the jackets of the Jim Dandy ski club rad x20

[bklyn]

^^^^ dynafit gloves sweet are they super light weight and cost $100 I need a pair my marker gloves keep falling off my hands
Skinned up to the cirque at the bird with the mrs. yesterday quite variable snow and single digit temps. Nice to see the National brotherhood of skiers in town. I so covet the jackets of the Jim Dandy ski club rad x20

If you would like a jacket, it can be arranged. They would love to make a guy like you an honorary member. You'd fit right in with the crew.

[skifishbum]

If you would like a jacket, it can be arranged. They would love to make a guy like you an honorary member. You'd fit right in with the crew.

I'll never forget when brotherhood took over sillytude back in the A frame days We partyed hard
Single digit chili blustery DP up B right On over to summit best skiing in wind deposited gulleys and terrain features. A few consildated wind slabs and collapsing noted. Good skiing and cool overcast lighting at least with rosecopper lenses on.

[Trackhead]

Good, but somewhat variable conditions on upper elevation east aspects today.


Some sluffs from yesterday, but no new activity today. Too lazy to dig a pit.

[alto]

A friend of mine sent me this. Today on N. Baldy I think.

Don't know why he didn't post it here, but it probably should be seen.



He said hard slab on a foot of sugar on rocks.

[Particle]

Well, that sucks.

[nohow]

Still a bit thin out there!


Some nice turns to be had.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8mzldpMzek"]YouTube- HelmetCamTest.mov[/ame]

[jwolter7]

A couple of small slides in the Wasatch in the last few days.
Conditions have been prime for faceted grain growth: shallow snow pack with consistent cold temperature.

http://utahavalanchecenter.org/services

[Trackhead]

A couple of small slides in the Wasatch in the last few days.
Conditions have been prime for faceted grain growth: shallow snow pack with consistent cold temperature.

http://utahavalanchecenter.org/services

Oh well, it's our typicall pre-season snow pack. We tip-toe around for a month or so, then get a series of big fat storms, then presto....stability.

[MultiVerse]

It was already puking up high this morning so this looks like one of those big fat storms.

Spent six hours in the sheep pen today lugging a DSLR with no CFlash card, so no pics, but pushed out a similar (slightly smaller) slab like Alto’s picture that was sitting on top of a barely there bed of rocky boilerplate. It was just a quick cut around a southeast facing outcropping on an otherwise relatively safe slope, so beware of spatial variability (note to self).

Also, lots of wind loading up high and the new snow tended to sluff on steep slopes, and run continuously. Still, best turns of the season so far.

[Phall]

A couple of small slides in the Wasatch in the last few days.
Conditions have been prime for faceted grain growth: shallow snow pack with consistent cold temperature.

http://utahavalanchecenter.org/services

bumped for the new incident report from cardiac ridge today, 1 full burial, no injuries, fully recovered. Broke 2.5 feet deep.

[Trackhead]

bumped for the new incident report from cardiac ridge today, 1 full burial, no injuries, fully recovered. Broke 2.5 feet deep.

I was up there a couple days ago, prior to the latest wind/snow event. The snow pack was quite variable with some stubborn wind slabs starting to build up near the rocks at at higher elevations. The wind that day was howling over the ridge from the west, loading things up.

[jwolter7]

http://utahavalanchecenter.org/services

Accident & Rescue Summary:
" Details from a telephone report to the Utah Avalanche Center. More details to follow as they become available."

"A party of skiers were breaking a trail up east-facing Cardiac Ridge. As they neared the top of the ridge, they triggered an avalanche from below, which broke out about 100 feet above them. The avalanche caught the last skier on the up track, carried him down and buried him about 2.5 feet deep. The others responded immediately and as they approached with their beacons on receive, they saw the tip of a ski pole sticking out. They pulled on it and it was attached to his wrist. They reported to have dug him out in about a minute. His face was getting blue and he took a deep breath when they uncovered his face. He was recovered without injuries."

"They reported that they felt several collapses previously but did not think there was enough snow to avalanche. The wind was blowing the snow near the ridge, so they assumed that it was a wind slab, which likely collapsed on the very weak faceted snow."

Terrain Summary:
"The slope was a shallow, rocky section of the broad, east facing ridge. They worked their way up the looker's right side of the slope."

[The Gnarwhale]

Took a walk on the PC ridgeline today. Lots of whumping in the flats and stomping on convexities yielded soft slabs that ran on a density inversion in the new snow. Didnt get anything to pull out on the facets beneith the new snow, but that was probably only because of the mellow terrain we were in.

Skied some low-angle and noticed shooting cracks propagating +50' from me.

And then the wind picked up.