Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

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bohlsen
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Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by bohlsen »

Does anyone know if there's a good site anywhere to find snow conditions in the Wasatch Range?
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skiwall
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by skiwall »

Hidden Peak webcams at Snowbird are rather telling, if you're looking for upper Little Cottonwood. I have friends who skied Main Baldy this week.

Do you have a particular place you're wanting info on?
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kimo
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by kimo »

More webcams here:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/camera/mosaic/was_mtn.php

We were across the valley in the Stansbury Mountains last week. Good snow coverage above 10K, esp on northerly aspects and down in the trees. Coverage on the Wasatch Front appeared similar. We have some pics of Timp taken from the Alpine Loop Rd. on 5/28. Can post tonite if you are interested.
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bohlsen
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by bohlsen »

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking for info on some of the south facing hiking routes around Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon (I hiked Grandview Peak yesterday and its pretty obvious that all the north facing stuff above treeline is going to be snowy for a while). Specifically I'm interested in Mt Superior from Alta and Box Elder Peak from the south and wondering when I could do them without having to cross big snow fields. I looked at the Snowbird webcam and there's not really any shots towards Superior. Kimo: how were the Stansbury Mountains? I'm also thinking of doing Deseret Peak if I get a chance.
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PatsSox09
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by PatsSox09 »

Image

Here's Deseret Peak from yesterday ( you can barely see it beyond the Oquirrh range in the far horizon)

Image

And the south face of Deseret from 2 days ago.

I did Deseret around the same time last year, when snow levels were a lot less than this year. Ran into some snow going up to the saddle on the South Willow route, and snow on the north facing aspects of Deseret if you're coming up Dry Fork. Expect at least that, if not more.

And here's the southern aspect of Alpine Ridge (and bits of Cottonwood Ridge behind it) from yesterday:

Image
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skiwall
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by skiwall »

Superior from Alta looks fine. Maybe a little snow near the top.

http://www.alta.com/pages/camdetail.php#camtop

You guys are making me miss my Wasatch pretty bad...
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bohlsen
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Re: Wasatch (Utah) Conditions

Post by bohlsen »

anna wrote:
bohlsen wrote: Kimo: how were the Stansbury Mountains? I'm also thinking of doing Deseret Peak if I get a chance.
Kimo's at work so I'll chime in. Deseret still has plentiful snow on all aspects. The couloir routes on that peak look to be in good condition. To be succinct, Deseret was brutal. We ascended the north side via Pocket's Fork. Trail was fairly dry until the last bit before gaining the ridge. We snow climbed that final slope to gain the north ridge, but you could probably avoid it if snow climbing isn't your thing. Ice axe and crampons would be very useful here. We booted it, but it was a bit steeper towards the top and crampons would be beneficial. Easy enough glissade if you descended that side. Once we gained the ridge, the real work began. We lost the trail quickly enough to snow cover. Crazy deep (and sometimes rather steep) snow all the way to the summit. That route passes by a prominent avy chute. If it were me, I'd avoid that north side for awhile yet. It was miserable.

We were in a snowstorm for most of the day so we didn't get much in the way of photos, but they tell the story good enough. We descended the south side via the South Willow Creek trail to complete the loop. The south side was still holding plenty of snow and we were very grateful to have snowshoes for flotation when we descended into the trees. We would've been spending the night had we not had flotation as it was still super deep. We picked up some old tracks that eventually led us back to the trail. If you do decide to go for Deseret and find a stray ice axe, it's probably mine. Deseret stole it as we were booking it down the south slope to escape the thunder that started 5 minutes after we left the summit.
Thanks for the info
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