Wasatch Conditions 10-11

**lionelhutz** · 02-03-2011, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by sfotex

Looks better then it rides.
Bruce Tremper observation yesterday:
Riding conditions were not nearly as good as you would think with all the very low density snow. The east and northeast winds messed up most slopes with the exception of some very wind protected areas. Snow was stiff, lurch-and-jerk windslabs on most slopes. West facing is the most wind protected. You can feel the old, hard, crusts below most of the time. Extensive cross-loading on the south facing slopes above Alta, making for some tricky conditions. When it's good, it's good, but harder to find good than you would expect.

Only in Utah would people be crying about the conditions. Not that Tremper isn't right. But really? We're actually discussing whether 16 inches of 3% is good skiing. Discussing safety is one thing...but come on....so what if it's smoke and mirrors. YOu know what it's better than? The death slide I almost took on the top of stone crusher last week. All the smoke and mirrors couldn't hide the howizter proof slip and slide I ended up on.

With that said...things are looking up. Something brewing for the 6-8 and big pattern change around presi. day.

**wra** · 02-03-2011, 09:21 AM

West facing is the most wind protected

uh,

yup

**Skidog** · 02-03-2011, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by lionelhutz

Only in Utah would people be crying about the conditions. Not that Tremper isn't right. But really? We're actually discussing whether 16 inches of 3% is good skiing. Discussing safety is one thing...but come on....so what if it's smoke and mirrors. YOu know what it's better than? The death slide I almost took on the top of stone crusher last week. All the smoke and mirrors couldn't hide the howizter proof slip and slide I ended up on.

With that said...things are looking up. Something brewing for the 6-8 and big pattern change around presi. day.

Ha 2 of my buddies took that "death slide" down the very top of stonecrusher like a week ago...good 200 yards and FAST...i turned tail and went down the trees between.....good turns in there..

**sfotex** · 02-03-2011, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by lionelhutz

Only in Utah would people be crying about the conditions. Not that Tremper isn't right. But really? We're actually discussing whether 16 inches of 3% is good skiing. Discussing safety is one thing...but come on....so what if it's smoke and mirrors. YOu know what it's better than? The death slide I almost took on the top of stone crusher last week. All the smoke and mirrors couldn't hide the howizter proof slip and slide I ended up on.

With that said...things are looking up. Something brewing for the 6-8 and big pattern change around presi. day.

No, the 16" of cold smoke is great, it's just the rock hard re-frozen snow that's the problem. A week of spring conditions + -20 degree temps has made it pretty interesting on the steep stuff.

**lionelhutz** · 02-03-2011, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Skidog

Ha 2 of my buddies took that "death slide" down the very top of stonecrusher like a week ago...good 200 yards and FAST...i turned tail and went down the trees between.....good turns in there..

Yea...once I arrested it was amazing. I was in there tuesday of last week. Nobody had been in there for quite some time it seemed and it had blown in a bunch. Once I hit the snow it was like 20-30 turns of knee deep.

**Duffman** · 02-03-2011, 01:22 PM

Ha, so I guess the sign on the High-T advising bulletproof conditions at the top of Stonecrusher and Lone Pine was accurate then, and not a slick trick to keep us EC'ers away. I eyeballed it from the top on sunday before the snow started falling, and wisely tucked tail and shot down to Eagles Nest instead.

**Skidog** · 02-03-2011, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Duffman

Ha, so I guess the sign on the High-T advising bulletproof conditions at the top of Stonecrusher and Lone Pine was accurate then, and not a slick trick to keep us EC'ers away. I eyeballed it from the top on sunday before the snow started falling, and wisely tucked tail and shot down to Eagles Nest instead.

yeah my crew saw that sign and we're like...WTF there has never been a sign there...went down a bit and one of em dropped...well we found out QUICK why that sign was there....again like mentioned once you got out of that top portion thats mostly exposed it was buttery deepness...

**salida** · 02-03-2011, 02:35 PM

Skiing not as bad as stated in here.

The higher you go the easier it is to bottom out on the crust below the fresh snow. Only noted surface instabilities.

**bigdude2468** · 02-03-2011, 07:27 PM

I must have missed the crust last week on SC / Lone Pine, I saw it a little lower but only about what would have been two turns, GO FAST AND DON'T TURN.

Anybody see the dork knock over the gate on the High T going towards High Rustler? Late in the day Wednesday I see this guy screwing with the gate and rope and I am thinking shit the patrol is closing it. No, he has knocked it over and he is trying to put it back up, cannot get it into the snow.

**Sol Skier** · 02-03-2011, 07:50 PM

Since he was on the High T, and had skis on I assume, that guy is more like you than 99.9% of the other humans on this planet. So of course, you went and helped a brother out, right?

**ectreeskier11** · 02-03-2011, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Sol Skier

Since he was on the High T, and had skis on I assume, that guy is more like you than 99.9% of the other humans on this planet. So of course, you went and helped a brother out, right?

that, my friend, is awesome.

**ectreeskier11** · 02-03-2011, 08:11 PM

"It looks like a long duration event with relatively low precipitation rates and moderate density most of the time but it should add up. Best chance for higher rates and larger accumulation appears to be with a cold front Monday night or early Tuesday. Brief rime event possible Friday afternoon/eve."

i'm most interested in the possible rime event... what's that going to do anywhere the ice crust is still exposed? better or worse (hard to imagine it would get worse)?

**lionelhutz** · 02-04-2011, 10:49 AM

Well Rime isn't really anywhere near as serious as a rain event. At least IMO. Rime is the result of super cooled water droplets freezing on contact to sub freezing temp surfaces. It's closely associated with the process that forms graupel. So i'd prob. phrase it as part of this storm will see graupel with rime on exposed upper elevation trees and whatnot. Certainly not the freezing rain/clear ice scenario. Temps don't support that.

Event sure looked purdy on this AM models. Def. a few feet possible by the middle of next week.

**The Gnarwhale** · 02-04-2011, 12:21 PM

Thanks for the weather updates LH! A few feet sounds real good.

Yeah, I agree with LH. Pretty much any rain event will mean Big Changes for the snowpack. Rime isnt much of a hazard by itself, though rime crust will affect vapor movment through the snowpack, often leading to the formation of weaker, faceted grains around the crust. Two (or three?) years ago a Nov rime crust led to the formation of a weak layer that haunted us for a while. Having said that, if the crust is buried within a few days it'll probably deteriorate before it ever becomes an issue. We've had a number of rime events this winter but all have been buried soon after and none have been a player in any of the Wasatch avalanches that I'm aware of.

A couple photos from the past week:

TyFalk

**TheMessenger** · 02-04-2011, 12:32 PM

I would think that rime sticking to an ice layer would be a good thing as it would allow an interface for subsequent new snow to bond to.

**ectreeskier11** · 02-04-2011, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by TheMessenger

I would think that rime sticking to an ice layer would be a good thing as it would allow an interface for subsequent new snow to bond to.

that's kinda what i was thinking. either way i don't think it could make localized conditions WORSE than they are now (obviously where there's a new snow surface it's not good, but anything to cover that ice in my book overall is good).

**Slaag Master** · 02-04-2011, 03:22 PM

pioneer ridge and twin lakes area are still tits - beware the ice/hardpack on the headwalls

**Adski** · 02-04-2011, 08:31 PM

My ob for today, without getting into the greybird, is that this photo absolutely kills it. The motion captured here just kicks ass. Great job on the eye and the moment. Good inspiration for future ventures.

**wasatch surf** · 02-05-2011, 09:40 PM

Here is some POV footage from 2/3/11 LCC to BCC tour. Saw one skier get caught in a small slide in upper days, but they popped at the bottom. We triggered a few small slabs and sluffs but nothing worth mentioning. Nice pics Gnarwhale and thanks for putting the booter in B&H couloir.

Photos:

Dropping

Turning

**lionelhutz** · 02-06-2011, 08:15 AM

Looks like we are on course for a good little storm over the next 48 hours. Just checking temp profiles now but density looks like middle of the road stuff.

**Alx88** · 02-06-2011, 04:07 PM

Skied a NICE little shot off of Kessler back into Mineral today. Weather was awesome, snow was much better than expected.. Face shots I tell ya. No instabilities neither skinning nor riding, just a tad bit crusty off the ridge.

Here's a few photos of the day.

**Alx88** · 02-06-2011, 06:14 PM

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....59490&comments

**icelanticskier** · 02-06-2011, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by wra

sweet roll, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

rog

**gramps** · 02-07-2011, 09:46 AM

The skiing was fantastic yesterday and no one was out. It might have been the best conditions I've ever had on the summit line on S face of Superior. Effortless. It was so good we went back up and did Monte Cristo. Not a soul in sight after Cardiff pass. No one even skied Toledo yesterday, or Cardiac. But we missed the first half of the Superbowl, so I guess maybe we were the ones missing out...