Alta Conditions Report – January Doldrums

Aaron Rice | | Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report

 

Getting into the Wasatch backcountry. Sitting on top of The Hypodermic Needle enjoying the view.
Getting into the Wasatch backcountry. Standing on top of The Hypodermic Needle enjoying the view.

Whelp, there’s no way to beat around the bush on this one. We are in a deep dry spell here in Alta. The only thing keeping us going is a good base from a productive December and early January, and knowing how rough California has it (sorry). Words like chalky and buffed-out have replaced words like powder and blower. And with no burning need for first chair, the bars are full from apres to closing time.

Nate going upsidedown on a beautiful high pressure day!
Nate going upsidedown on a beautiful high pressure day! [Photo: Aaron Rice, Skier: Nate]
We did receive a couple very small storms. One droppeda couple inches of grauple with some wind that made for a nice refresher on Saturday. The other storm was barely an inch but helped keep the groomers for getting too icy with repeated grooming.

If the inbounds conditions are getting you down, it may be time to head for the hills. The backcountry in the Wasatch is very stable right now and big lines are being skied. If you do head into the BC make sure to read the UAC advisory first at utahavalanchecenter.org.

The south facing side of LCC holds some major lines!
The south facing side of LCC holds some major lines!

SNOW REPORT:

24 hour snowfall: 0”
7 day snowfall: 2″
base: 67″
season snowfall: 190″

WEATHER:

I wish I could tell you that this high pressure was on its way out and we had big storms lined up, but unfortunately for the foreseeable (~5 days) future it looks like we will remain dry. However over the weekend we may reach some record warm temps. This could at least provide some awesome spring conditions. Time to break out the onesie and tele blades!

Screen shot 2015-01-22 at 11.05.25 PM

Disclaimer: The author of this post received compensation from Alta Ski Area for writing it. However, the content is solely determined by the author.


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