A Nearly Snow Free October

Although we will see a few snow showers today and tonight in the high country, perhaps enough to coat the ground in places, it appears that October will go into the books nearly snow free as the rest of the week through Halloween looks dry.

For those of you looking to make turns, Gunsight currently has a 0-2.5 cm base.  I'm using metric for marketing purposes.

The metric base builder can be found elsewhere in the Alta–Snowbird high country...



Most of this skiff of snow consists of large graupel, ice pellets, or small hail that fell during Tuesday's frontal passage.  I never know what to call precipitation that looks like this.  In honor of The Princess Bride, perhaps we should call it "graupel of unusual size."  This mass collected in a local pit of despair.

Elsewhere in the Wasatch, Lake Mary (left) is looking forward to a recharge this winter.  I don't know what the typical "spillway" elevation of Lake Mary is in October, but it surely can't get much lower than it is this year.  Note the dry dam at upper left.

On the plus side, unless today and tonight surprise me with more snow than expected, we should end October largely facet free.  Hopefully Mother Nature will eventually turn on the spigot in a big way so that we can avoid the deep instabilities that have plagued backcountry travel in recent years.