Actually got to do a tour that we used to do a bunch but covid shut it down due to the hitchhiking part. Started at Alta, went up over Cardiff Peak and to the top of Little Superior Buttress and skied the NE facing into Cardiff Fork. I was a bit surprised that it hadn’t been skied yet and decided to give it a go. Was a little suspect at the top in the starting zone due to a thick windslab but a few turns in the slab went away and it was perfect powder. Todays heat has compacted and stiffened the slab but I’m still not seeing enough load on the facets below to be alarmed. The main hazard today and for that matter yesterday was on the sunny side of the compass with wet sluffs and wet avalanches in most steep S facing terrain. Any strong wind events could change things but for now I believe things are mostly stable and the snow on the N end of the compass remains 5 star.
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South Monitor2/24/2022
It’s been a while since there’s be anything to talk about in the avalanche world of the Wasatch but it finally snowed so I thought I’d give my take on condition. Travel was from the Guardsman pass road to S Monitor for a few laps then on to W facing Wills Hill with a exit out of Willow. It’s snowed 12 inches of light density snow in the last week with some wind out of the NW then out of the SE. Everyone’s been waiting for enough of a load for avalanches, on the facets from the long high pressure but the load is just not enough to tip the scales in most terrain. The UAC has had the hazard pinned at considerable for the last 2 days but I tend to disagree. The only action in the core of the Wasatch has been a couple small wind slabs running on old facets but there just isn’t enough of a load to turn on the alarm. There was some shallow windslabs triggered off the ridge of S Monitor but they were totally manageable and not much of a hindrance, a few quick ski cuts is all that was needed to clean them out. The skiing has been improving daily with small amounts of snow loaded over time and cold temperatures. You can still feel the bottom in most places but it’s getting softer day by day. Seems like the main thing to look out for is windslabs but I just haven’t seen them wide spread in most terrain, just light density snow resting on a variety of surfaces.
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January 2024
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