Wasatch 21/22 - We're All Here 'Cause We're Not All There!

[Shredhead]

It’s the color. We get dust every once and awhile. It fucks up the snowpack.

[Woodsy]

And a few years ago one of the daily pow brothers broke his ankle skiing in the nest pre season. But I guess they’ve got to get the footie!

Was happening long b4 the gram. Whenever we got any early season snow always see somebody you knew on crutches in the bar or around SLC from an early jaunt up to 10,420 or a resort

[Dantheman]

Was happening long b4 the gram. Whenever we got any early season snow always see somebody you knew on crutches in the bar or around SLC from an early jaunt up to 10,420 or a resort

Yep. Knew one guy BITD who broke a femur, another that broke multiple ribs. Nearly joined that club myself once. I'd rather be riding bikes up high in October, but what can you do. We do need the water.

[MultiVerse]

It’s the color. We get dust every once and awhile. It fucks up the snowpack.

The dust is especially noticeable in the spring. Sometimes it can make the snowpack look orangish-pink:

I'd rather be riding bikes up high in October

It's not very scientific, but my own anecdotal experience is the later the Crest is rideable snow free the more stable the snowpack. Last year the Crest was shut down in October versus the season a few years ago when we had zero avi deaths it was rideable until November 16, the morning of the seasons first big storm.

[brutah]

The dust is especially noticeable in the spring. Sometimes it can make the snowpack look orangish-pink.

Are you referring to watermelon snow? That's algae.

The drying up of the GSL has more implications than just the snowpack. First, it's a positive feedback loop, the drier it is the more likely dust will get kicked up which consequently makes the snow melt faster and less precip which contributes to less water going to the great salt lake. The real issue is there's a lot of toxins on the west side of the lake that is now being exposed, then becoming airborne and dropping in the Wasatch, SL valley, PC, etc.

[MultiVerse]

Are you referring to watermelon snow? That's algae.

I'm not sure if the pink hue in the photo above (the color could look different on other screens) is algae because when the color change happens throughout the Wasatch it's usually preceded by sustained wind. Maybe it's algae since that can happen too, but I think it's dust blown in from the desert.

[googledidoo]

Are you referring to watermelon snow? That's algae.

The drying up of the GSL has more implications than just the snowpack. First, it's a positive feedback loop, the drier it is the more likely dust will get kicked up which consequently makes the snow melt faster and less precip which contributes to less water going to the great salt lake. The real issue is there's a lot of toxins on the west side of the lake that is now being exposed, then becoming airborne and dropping in the Wasatch, SL valley, PC, etc.

Exactly this. The Salt Lake Tribune has had some good articles recently about GSL. The NOAA extended winter weather forecast this season doesn't look promising calling for higher than normal temperatures and a good chance of below average snow. Hopefully they are wrong. What would another bad winter be like for our water situation and the GSL

[CirqueScaler]

I thought GSL drying was mostly attributable to farmers draining water for crops, sometimes alfalfa exported to China.

[Dantheman]

It's not very scientific, but my own anecdotal experience is the later the Crest is rideable snow free the more stable the snowpack. Last year the Crest was shut down in October versus the season a few years ago when we had zero avi deaths it was rideable until November 16, the morning of the seasons first big storm.

That's my recollection as well. Early snow is almost always followed by an extended dry spell that rots it to sugar. Ideal scenario is not a flake until Nov. 15, then turn on the faucet.

The drying up of the GSL has more implications than just the snowpack. First, it's a positive feedback loop, the drier it is the more likely dust will get kicked up which consequently makes the snow melt faster and less precip which contributes to less water going to the great salt lake. The real issue is there's a lot of toxins on the west side of the lake that is now being exposed, then becoming airborne and dropping in the Wasatch, SL valley, PC, etc.

It's amazing to see people finally getting concerned about the GSL drying up. I've been beating that drum for 15 years. Over the years I've asked many, many people here if they've ever heard of the Owens Lake saga and never gotten an affirmative response. LAMWD has spent billions trying to fix the dust problem in the Owens Valley, largely without success, and the GSL is ~15x larger. GSL dries up and the Wasatch Front is proper fucked (never mind that it would also be an ecological catastrophe with global implications for migratory bird populations).

[Dantheman]

I thought GSL drying was mostly attributable to farmers draining water for crops, sometimes alfalfa exported to China.

Overuse of water in general, but ag is ~85% of use. There needs to be a minimum annual inflow codified into state law, but nothing like that currently exists. If the infrastructure existed every drop could be legally diverted.

[googledidoo]

GSL dries up and the Wasatch Front is proper fucked (never mind that it would also be an ecological catastrophe with global implications for migratory bird populations).

I prefer to look at it glass half full. That would solve the LCC and ikon congestion problems.

[alias_rice]

We should ask the residents that lived by Lake Urmia in Iran what it’s like living next to a dry lake. That lake lost something like 95% of its volume in 20 years.

[Dantheman]

Aral Sea satellite image on a windy day: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/im...r-the-aral-sea

[spudbumkin]

I thought GSL drying was mostly attributable to farmers draining water for crops, sometimes alfalfa exported to China.

Farmers use salt water to irrigate crops?


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[altacoup]

Water doesn’t reach the GSL due to human usage. 85%of which is used for agriculture. Obviously you’re a bumpkin since your level of comprehension is zero


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[mall walker]

lol yeah do you think the GSL is filled with water magically transported from the ocean or something?

[CirqueScaler]

Speaking of Idaho, water, and farmers, I was up in the Tetons last month and was surprised to find that almost all of Jackson lake (the dam-created lake) is dry. It's usually 37 feet deep. Talking to a ranger, apparently Idaho built the dam and retains water rights from the Snake River. Idaho farmers have drained the entire damm(n)ed lake, and it will take at least a few years to refill.

More info: https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/...c0ddcc423.html

Anyways, it sure felt like winter in the mountains today. Alta sesh is still in session, although it's getting a little bit monotonous. The best snow this past week has been the northeast aspects. Today after 3 or 4 inches of snow, it was dust on supportable crust.

Low viz baldy shoulder and some nice clouds driving down:

Had a decent gathering of mags at the BD swap. Rain shut everything down pretty early.

Are we really getting 20 inches this week?

[mar123]

reading....good...

https://www.livescience.com/56941-great-salt-lake.html

https://extension.usu.edu/waterquali...ajorwatersheds

The school across the street from me in Sandy waters their approximately 10 soccer worth of fields during the summer so much that (which go virtually unused all year) enough to where mushrooms are starting to grow all over!... it is really sickening the waste of water that goes into those fields...the grass grows so fast and thick its ridiculous, I walk my dog there almost on a daily basis....maybe not a huge deal in itself but just one example of which i'm sure there are at least thousands similar situations in the the SLC valley....protecting the GSL should be a top priority

[mall walker]

automatic sprinklers water the sidewalks, as in literally only hit the sidewalks, at night in the rain and at 4pm in august when it’s 100F, in my part of town. I’m no carl fisher or whatever but it is a bit wild how cheap city water is and how little the city seems to care about how it is used.

our water main broke and just leaked full volume into the ground for a week and my water bill wasn’t over $100 lol. sure seems like there’s large middle ground between what we have now and “strict environmentalism” or whatever

[tuco]

Water doesn’t reach the GSL due to human usage. 85%of which is used for agriculture. Obviously you’re a bumpkin since your level of comprehension is zero


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Well, in another case of words mean shit, the quote did say "drain", which implies the water made it there. Maybe "diverting" would have been the better word choice......just sayin'

[whyturn]

Another good morning at Alta Good refresh of 3-6 and sun stayed off the snow for a while.




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[wasatch_carpetbagger]

Nothing like the smell of a season long PWL in the morning <3

[Sirshredalot]

Nothing like the smell of a season long PWL in the morning <3

Do you mean the rain crust, the depth hoar, or both?

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[Dantheman]

Nothing like the smell of a season long PWL in the morning <3

Le sigh. Although, the WXMaps models are showing a relatively active pattern persisting through November 10: http://wxmaps.org/outlooks.php

[schindlerpiste]

I heard on the news today that this is the wettest Oct. on record that the Wasatch has ever had