Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Skyline Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Friday - December 6, 2013 - 7:43pm
bottom line

There will be a rising avalanche danger on the Skyline this weekend. As the storm develops the avalanche danger will increase to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches will be possible on steep wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass. Once triggered avalanches can break deeper and wider than you might anticipate. Keep in mind that even small avalanches are more dangerous this time of year due to rocks, logs, and stumps just under the snow surface.

The south half of the compass offers LOW avalanche danger.
current conditions

Tuesday's storm never quite materialized for the Skyline, but it wasn't a total bust as 6" of snow did manage to stack up on the northern half of the range.However, with only about 12"-18" of total snow on the ground, early season conditions still exist on the Skyline. Our intrepid observers, Darce Trotter and Steve Cote, were out there braving the brutally cold temps and in general, just killin' it with awesome observations like this.

White from far, but far from white. Steve's snow stake at Miller Flat Trailhead says it all.... the Skyline needs snow!
recent activity

About the only avalanche activity observed is this sluff Darce noticed this from Huntington Dam.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

The weekend weather system is going to generate a good shot of snow, a fair amount of wind, and a lot of stoke. It's also going to change the benign avalanche conditions we've been enjoying the past few weeks. As the storm develops the avalanche danger will be on the rise and it's not gonna be entirely straightforward. As a matter of fact, we'll be dealing with two distinctly different avalanche dragons... one manageable, one not so manageable.

Let's start with the manageable- wind slabs will become sensitive to the additional weight of a rider, especially as the storm unfolds. But wind slabs are manageable because they break at or below our skis, board, or sled and we can avoid them by steering clear of fat, round pillows of snow.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Not so manageable are slides that break to old snow near the ground. Remember- the early season snowpack is shallow... and a shallow snowpack is a weak snowpack. The weakest snow we've found is on mid and upper elevation, north facing terrain, especially steep, rocky slopes and this is the type of terrain we need to avoid as the snow starts stacking up and the winds blow. Once triggered, avalanches will have the possibility of breaking deeper and wider than you might expect, easily producing a season ending injury or possibly worse.

In either case, look for natures red flags like shooting cracks, whoomphing sounds, and recent avalanches.

Wanna avoid avalanche danger altogether? The ticket this weekend is to head to terrain facing the south half of the compass or to slopes that were bare prior to the winter storm forecast to hit the Skyline this weekend.
weather

This graphic pretty much sums it up. A good shot of snow is slated for the Skyline. Temperatures rise out of the deep freeze and climb into the low teens. West and southwest winds blow 20-30 mph along the ridges. A foot of snow looks like a good bet by late Sunday as the storm winds down. Partly cloudy skies are on tap for the first half of the week with another storm edging into the region late Wednesday.
general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. Please let us and the rest of the community know what your are seeing out there by  submitting snow and avalanche conditions.  

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. Contact either Craig Gordon or Brett Kobernik by emailing us: 
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL CRAIG
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL BRETT

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

This advisory will be updated by 8:00 PM December 13th or sooner if conditions warrant.