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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Paige Pagnucco
Issued by Paige Pagnucco for
Thursday, December 28, 2017

We have a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger on many slopes in the backcountry. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist - careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding and conservative decision making are essential to your survival in the backcountry today. Human triggered avalanches up to 1-2' deep and up to 300' wide or larger are likely and unmanageable - they can be triggered remotely from a distance as well as from below. Choose to travel on flat terrain or low angle slopes not connected to steeper terrain above.

We are still in the period of time where avalanche accidents are likely - traveling in safe terrain will keep you from becoming a statistic.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow

Skies are mostly clear with temps in the mid to upper 20s with moderate to light winds blowing out of the west. Upper elevation snowpack depths sit at two to almost three feet. Riding conditions are quite good as the Christmas storm snow settles, but still a touch thin at low elevations.

A big shout out to LUCKY SLICE PIZZA in Ogden for bringing a ton of awesome pizza to last night's KNOW BEFORE YOU GO talk at GEAR 30. We appreciate your support and love your pizza! If you are interested in furthering your avalanche education, visit our EDUCATION page.

Recent Avalanches

A little bit calmer day yesterday with only one reported remotely triggered avalanche on Beer Hill in the Monte Cristo area. A snowmobiler triggered the avalanche from about 150 yards away. Read the observation here.

Beer Hill avalanche 12/27/17

Mark Staples visited Whiskey Hill yesterday to conduct an investigation of Tuesday's accident involving multiple burials. See photo below and read his thorough report here.

Whiskey Hill avalanche 12/26/17

Collapsing across the zone still noted as persistent weak layer is just that, persistent.

An avalanche cycle occurred just prior to Christmas Day and many slopes may still yet be triggered by backcountry travelers on and adjacent to steep slopes. Plenty of excellent recent observations from Ogden to read.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Though the snow is SLOWLY stabilizing we still have collapsing, cracking and recent avalanches. These are all RED FLAGS for avalanche activity. Persistent = continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period. This weak layer is not going anywhere anytime soon so continue to stay on low angle terrain and out from under steep slopes. See Mark's video from Whiskey Hill yesterday as he explains why it is so easy to trigger an avalanche from below.

YouTube Link

Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Light to moderate westerly winds will continue to move some snow around but these kinds of avalanches will become harder to trigger. They are fairly isolated to ridge lines and terrain features like gullies. The dangerous part is that once any snow gets moving, it could step down to one of the deeper weak layers, resulting in a much larger avalanche.

Additional Information

Today will be mostly sunny in the Ogden area mountains with temperatures nearing 30 F and winds out of the southwest at 10-15 mph. High pressure aloft will keep us dry and mild until Saturday when a quick hitting disturbance will cross the northern part of the state.
General Announcements

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

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