Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Mark Staples on
Thursday morning, January 23, 2020

A MODERATE avalanche danger exists on upper elevation slopes with wind drifted snow. There remains a chance for triggering a shallow soft slab avalanche in the new snow. Mid and low elevations have generally safe avalanche conditions and a LOW danger.

Lose a little elevation and avoid slopes with fresh wind drifting, and you'll avoid most avalanches today.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Special Announcements

We are very sad to report an avalanche fatality from Saturday above Farmington Canyon. An 18-year-old male snowmobiler was caught, fully buried and killed. The final report is available HERE. Our deepest condolences go out to the friends, family, rescuers, and everyone affected by this tragic accident.

Weather and Snow

Currently it's snowing in the mountains with 1-2 inches so far in most places. However, it's snowing hard in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon which has gotten 4 inches (0.5 inches of water) as of 6 a.m. Since late Tuesday night, the Cottonwood Canyons received 8-12 inches and the Park City Ridgeline received about 4 inches.

Gusty winds yesterday eased some this morning and are generally blowing 10 mph and gusting 20 mph from the WNW. Temperatures range from the low 20s F at upper elevations to near 30 degrees F at low elevations.

Yesterday's new snow was a little bit upside down which means there was dense snow on top of light snow. There was also a bit of graupel that fell yesterday. This dense snow did a good job covering an ice crust that formed on south aspects last weekend and early this week.

More snow will fall this morning and shouldn't be more than an inch or so in most places. However, under a northwest flow, there could be more in Little Cottonwood. Temperatures should warm into the mid and upper 20s F under mostly cloudy skies. Winds should begin easing by this afternoon as a short lived ridge of high pressure moves over the area this afternoon and evening. Off and on snowfall will come through the weekend with mild temperatures and no major wind event.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday, ski areas and people in the backcountry triggered shallow soft slab avalanches mainly on slopes with wind drifting. These slides were generally breaking less than a foot deep and did not produce enough debris to bury a person but could sweep you off your feet and into trees or rocks. One slide happened on Kessler Peak and another in Cardiff Fork in the Hallway Couloir (video below).

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

If you avoid areas with wind drifted snow, you avoid most avalanches today. Look fresh slabs of wind drifted snow which appear rounded, smooth, and pillowly. Also, be aware of cross-loading when winds blow across a slope and load one side of it.

Heads up: There may be a few soft slabs that could avalanche on slopes without fresh wind drifts. Yesterday's upside-down snow should have settled and stabilized, but a period of intense snowfall this morning in the upper Little Cottonwood Canyon may cause soft slabs in the new snow to produce avalanches.

Photo of avalanche in the Hallway Couloir which was cross-loaded by winds yesterday.

CORNICE: More snow being transported by more strong winds yesterday has continued to grow cornices. They often break much further back than expected, so be sure to give them a wide berth when traveling along the exposed ridgelines.

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

It was hard to ignore a 500 ft wide avalanche that was triggered on Sunday in Mill B south in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This avalanche was an outlier event because people hit lines throughout the Wasatch Range and did not trigger any other avalanches on this layer.

Today, there is a slight chance another slab avalanche could break on this layer. Yesterday in Dry Fork and in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon, I found this layer but it was of no concern. Scroll down to read about one way to deal with this avalanche problem.

Additional Information

Here's what I would do:

(1) Avoid slopes with fresh wind drifts.

(2) Make my decision whether to ride a specific slope or not.

(3) Then make a final check of what layers could be lurking in the snow on that slope. In a nearby location on a low angle slope with the same aspect, dig down three feet and look for an ice crust or subtle stripe in the snow near that depth. Perform an extended column test (ECT). If it fractures across the column (aka propagates), don't ride that slope.

Why dig and do and ECT? First, I don't like to take chances with my life. Second, it's good practice. The more you do this test, the faster you'll get at it. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Lastly, I consider digging a snowpit to be rescue practice because I become more proficient at digging in the snow and using my shovel.

General Announcements

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

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures