Latest Alta observations ... HOLY CHIT!!!

**Xover** · 10-31-2004, 07:04 PM

28" new today
82" base
gotta luv lake effect
to bad they are closed to uphill travel tomorrow
guess Stash, Z and I will have to go across the road tomorrow a.m.

**ak_powder_monkey** · 10-31-2004, 07:39 PM

Holy Chit!!!!

Its dumping here as well

**powderwhore** · 10-31-2004, 07:44 PM

Its spelled SHIT, not CHIT.

Friggin midwestern gaper!

Its gonna be sick tomarrow, enjoy ya bastards.

**AltaPowderDaze** · 10-31-2004, 07:44 PM

so when do they reopen? i think i'm gonna give holy mole a go tomorrow. i hope the coverage is good cause i'm not takin the rock stix. i've had a real taste of my good boards and can't go back. i've never skied high boy so fast, but a good slough will do that to you.

**phUnk** · 10-31-2004, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by powderwhore

Its spelled SHIT, not CHIT.

Friggin midwestern gaper!

Teeheehee.

**glademaster** · 10-31-2004, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by Xover

28" new today
82" base
gotta luv lake effect
to bad they are closed to uphill travel tomorrow
guess Stash, Z and I will have to go across the road tomorrow a.m.

12 inches new reported at 7AM, 104 inches total. 28-12=16 inches since 7AM. 104+16=120 inches=10 feet of snow in the month of October alone, most of which has fallen in the past 2-2.5 weeks. WOW!

**Lynx** · 10-31-2004, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze

i hope the coverage is good cause i'm not takin the rock stix.

umm........i'm pretty sure coverage is not a problem right now.

**stump832** · 10-31-2004, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by Xover

guess Stash, Z and I will have to go across the road tomorrow a.m.

life sucks, huh?

**AltaPowderDaze** · 10-31-2004, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by Lynx

umm........i'm pretty sure coverage is not a problem right now.

after the headwall you have a tight choke that may need to be hucked or down climbed . then if you don't have enough coverage on the right, there are two or three ledges that can be dropped. i'm more worried about the bases on my stocklis than the actual terrain.

if anyone has been in cardiff fork lately please let me know what this line is looking like.

**gramps** · 10-31-2004, 08:37 PM

Over the head and bottomless, especially in the trees. We got a Catherine's first, then headed for Supreme bowl. Once it hit a certain angle, the entire two feet was coming off like clockwork, but luckily the pitches underneath Supreme lift ware short, so nothing ran too too far. It was so good, but we were taking chances we would have thought about a lot harder on a less than epic day. The snow really made you feel like you could do no wrong, but it is quite capable of coming down as a slab, as we saw several times in Supreme bowl. When the snow stayed put, it was absolutely epic. I was making turns blind through the trees because I coudn't even get above the snow on transitions, just a steady stream of white in places. I wish you had been there APD, we could have gotten some killer "all you can see is his pole!" pictures. So deep today.

Be very very careful tomorrow APD. This stuff is getting pushed by the wind, and like I said, after a certain angle, the whole thing was coming off like clockwork. Actually, I'd advise against doing anything like that solo tomorrow, or with a partner for that matter. Dave got taken for a ride today, luckily the runout was pretty mellow,and he stayed on top. If a similiar thing happened to you in a chute, you'd be a goner.

**AltaPowderDaze** · 10-31-2004, 08:50 PM

gramps,
i wish the resort was open to uphill so i could get some more. i was up early today and found similar conditions to what you described. mostly it was point release today, but i could see that with a little more weight or transport on top there could be slab activity. i like the 50 degree slopes a little better since they get sloughed off a little more. i haven't seen how the bc has done with the new snow, but i will tomorrow. i'll just pick a nice tree run if things aren't looking all that good. i've gotta be back at the car for 10:30 latest so i might stay on the south facing if i get a late start. so many lines, so little time.

**Red Baron** · 10-31-2004, 09:16 PM

Shit...stay safe guys, did you read tonights avalanche advisory?

Current Conditions:

This storm is pounding the mountains with a vengeance. As of 5pm the upper Cottonwoods have picked up 25-30” of 7% smoke. The Park City and Ogden mountains have about a foot with the Provo mountains about half of that. In the Cottonwoods, it’s still dumping with another wave expected to add perhaps another 4-8” before it’s done. Unbelievable. The northwest winds have been less than 15mph and the temps were in the teens and twenties. With the turning and riding conditions are epic, and I suspect that folks will be talking about this October for years.

Avalanche Conditions

With this much snow and some hourly snowfall rates exceeding 2”/hr, avalanches are the rule and not the exception. The snow was exceedingly sensitive and both natural and human triggered avalanches ran on a variety of aspects above 9000’.

Most ran on Friday’s rime crust or within the new snow, averaging 12-18” deep but reportedly not propagating very far. Typically, slope angles needed to approach 38-40 degrees to get things to run, and once they did, they would run fast and far, entraining a lot of snow along the way. At least two skiers were caught and carried in separate incidents in upper Little Cottonwood with only bruised egos to show for it.

Slope cuts, cornice drops, and jumping on test slopes will tell you all you need to know for this type of hazard. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there was one report of an avalanche that pulled down into old snow.

A cornice drop on a steep northeast facing slope in upper Little Cottonwood pulled out one of the ‘rogue’ wind slabs from last Thursday, producing a slide nearly 2’ deep and 50’ wide. Clearly, another inch of water weight combined with the thump of a cornice drop was enough stress to initiate failure in a layer that hadn’t produced any slides for a few days.

**powstash** · 10-31-2004, 09:16 PM

Originally Posted by AltaPowderDaze

if anyone has been in cardiff fork lately please let me know what this line is looking like.

Edit: Photos of Holy Mole - finally!

Holy Toledo
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...HolyToledo.jpg

Holy Mole #1
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...4/DSCN2348.JPG

Holy Mole #2
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...4/DSCN2349.JPG
PM me your e-mail addy and I'll fire you a fresh image I took yesterday of Hole Mole. It looked a bit thin in the choke....but at the same time looked yummeee above and below the choke. We(Z, PowHo, myself) did Toledo chute and Holy Toledo(high skinny entrance) Not a problem. Mid winter coverage!

**powstash** · 10-31-2004, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by Red Baron

Shit...stay safe guys, did you read tonights avalanche advisory?

A cornice drop on a steep northeast facing slope in upper Little Cottonwood pulled out one of the ‘rogue’ wind slabs from last Thursday, producing a slide nearly 2’ deep and 50’ wide. Clearly, another inch of water weight combined with the thump of a cornice drop was enough stress to initiate failure in a layer that hadn’t produced any slides for a few days.

Dug a pit on the start of the apron of Toledo Chute on Saturday and it sheared on a shovel test on the second attempt (hitting the handle of the shovel) It broke about 12" down on the bottom of the crust layer. With last nights snow on the same slope I doubt I'd ski it again.

Got a family to think about, not just gettin' pow. We'll be safe.

**Son1cdeth** · 10-31-2004, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by Xover

to bad they are closed to uphill travel tomorrow

Just wondering, are they closed because of the high Avy danger? Or is it a mtn policy that allows for maintence and what-not?

**phUnk** · 10-31-2004, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by Son1cdeth

Just wondering, are they closed because of the high Avy danger? Or is it a mtn policy that allows for maintence and what-not?

They need to do avie control work so their employees can safely work on the mountain.

**gimpy** · 10-31-2004, 11:16 PM

HOHHHHHHHLY CRAP!!!!

82+" base, 25-30" of 7%, and early season powder lust in full force. rock on amigos!!!!

**Telekóptero** · 10-31-2004, 11:32 PM

oh, and. . .

i'm gonna hear no end of this when the coloraggots get back into town. hmm. . .where to work this winter? ootah or colorado?
definitely having second thoughts since the almanac was calling for heavy coverage out that way and a drier winter here. you all are bastards. awesome stats/snow. just sickening.

13 · 11-01-2004, 07:34 AM

Q: Could all this early base be bad for the snowpack later in the season if an inversion camps out over the Wasatch as Red Baron says?

I've been told that too much snow too early can be a bad thing over the course of a season.

**AltaPowderDaze** · 11-01-2004, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by 13

Q: Could all this early base be bad for the snowpack later in the season if an inversion camps out over the Wasatch as Red Baron says?

the thicker the base, the less chance of cold nights causing depth hoar. lower elevations may have a problem since they have a thin pack. i assume that is what you meant by bad.

**xboat** · 11-01-2004, 10:04 AM

this looks soooo motherfackin sweet!

http://www.alta.com/Images/alfsfull.jpg

**spanky** · 11-01-2004, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by xboat

this looks soooo motherfackin sweet!

http://www.alta.com/Images/alfsfull.jpg

Look at the snow piled up on the chairs on the Sugarloaf lift.

**gramps** · 11-01-2004, 10:59 AM

It's nothing short of epic up there today I'm sure. Too bad I'm in the valley...

13 · 11-01-2004, 11:20 AM

Over 100" has fallen already and I'm in Michigan until the 21st.

Looks like December/January coverage of last year in that pic of Baldy.

I think I'm gonna be sick.