The accident reports for the four avalanche fatalities are all finalized and worth reading. We all have something to learn so that we can get home safely to our loved ones.
The latest UAC Podcast was just released:
The Message and the Messengers - A Conversation with Alex Hamlin. In this podcast, we sit down with Alex Hamlin. For over fifteen years, Alex Hamlin has worked at the intersection of storytelling and outdoor sport, with experience at magazines, global retail brands and creative agencies..
Since yesterday the Ogden mountains have picked up 12-18" of heavy dense snow, containing about 2" of water. Ben Lomond has the highest water totals, with 3.5" of water at 8000'. Overnight there were periods of strong winds out of the south/southwest, gusting into the 40's and 50's mph, and although winds have subsided somewhat this morning, some upper elevation stations are averaging in the teens with gusts in the 30's mph out of the south/southwest.
Temperatures have been rising overnight, and are now in the mid to upper 20's F at most mountain locations, with some stations just around freezing.
Any snowfall for today should be light, and temperatures will warm well into the 30's at lower elevations, and just around freezing along upper elevation ridgelines. Upper elevations could see and additional 1-4" of dense snow today. The rain/snow line will be rising, with low and mid elevation light rain possible today. Winds will be moderate and out of the south/southwest.
It has been a wet February so far! The graph below from 8000' at Snowbasin shows 5" of accumulated water since the beginning of the month. It has also been quite windy, with several long-duration wind events from the south/southwest. This combination of wind and water weight has put a significant load on the snowpack.
Ongoing mitigation work at Ogden resorts yesterday reported touchy storm snow, especially during periods of heavier precipitation and wind. We received no reports from the backcountry, but I wouldn't be surprised if some small pockets of storm snow on steep slopes naturally avalanched.
UPDATE 0800: Check out this
observation that we received this morning of wet snow avalanches at 7500 feet in Mill Creek Canyon (West Porter Fk). This is relevant for many areas in the Ogden area.