UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!
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Blog: Week in Review (Jan 12 - Jan 18)

Greg Gagne
Forecaster

Week in Review for Friday Jan 12 through Thursday Jan 18

Progression of danger roses and overall hazard rating for Salt Lake Mountains from 1/12- 1/18. (Click on the day of the week for the archived forecast for that day.)

Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday HIGH Considerable Considerable Considerable Moderate Moderate Moderate

Summary - Storm and wind-drifted snow late last week overloaded a weak pre-existingsnowpack. Large, dangerous avalanches - natural and human-triggered - were reported from Logan to the Provo mountains, as well as the Uintas, with several close calls.

Friday January 12 - A few inches of snow and northerly winds continue to load snow onto our weaksnowpack. No avalanches were reported from the backcountry, but control work from resorts produced numerous large avalanches.

The Utah Avalanche Center issued a Special Avalanche Bulletin for the 3-day holiday weekend, highlighting the expected heavy use of the backcountry combined with persistent weaknesses in the snowpack. A recipe for a weekend of avalanching.

Saturday January 13 - Several human-triggered avalanches, including Grizzly Gulch and Snake Creek. One notable slide occurred in Cardiff Fork which involved a partial burial

One avalanche that was not especially large, but involved significant consequences due to being dragged over rocks, occurred in the Hallway Couloir into Cardiff Fork.

Sunday and Monday January 14/15 - Additional avalanches were reported outside of the central Wasatch:

- Upper Weber Canyon (Uintas) - Skier-triggered catch and carry.

- Yamaha Hill(Uintas) - Snowmobiler

- Fair Grounds Bowl (Logan) - Snowmobiler catch and carry.

Tuesday January 16 - A skier-triggered avalanche on a steep northwestupper LCC/BCC (West Davenport Hill)

Wednesday and Thursday January 17/18 - Snowpack has largely adjusted to recent loading, and snow surface has weakened, creating yet another weak layer in our beleagured snowpack.