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Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Evelyn Lees
Issued by Evelyn Lees for
Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Avalanche Danger is MODERATE today at the upper elevations – avoid any steep, wind drifted slopes. In very isolated places, slides could break into a deeper weak layer.

The wet, mid and low elevation snow is cooling, but until it freezes, avoid steep slopes and terrain traps such as creek beds and ravines.

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Weather and Snow

Temperatures this morning have cooled into the 20s at the mid and upper elevations, with low to mid 30s remaining in the Ogden area mountains and at the lower elevations in the Provo and Salt Lake mountains. The winds are from the west to northwest, and mostly less than 10 mph, with only a few high ridges averaging to 20 mph, with gusts to 30.

The storms the past week have been nickel and diming us, but were capped off yesterday by 3 to 5” of snow, and it’s added up to good turning and riding in dense, supportable snow above the rain line, varying between 9 and 9,500’. Unfortunately, a lack of low and mid elevation snow in the Provo area mountains makes it difficult to access the deeper snowpack at the upper elevations.

Recent Avalanches

SLC: Explosive control work was able to trigger a few class 2 soft wind slabs. No avalanche activity was reported from the SLC backcountry, though there was cracking of the wind drifts and in the new snow at upper elevations.

Ogden: Sensitive wind drifts up to 2 feet deep were triggered along the high ridgelines on slopes facing north and northeast, breaking back further than expected. There was both cracking and collapsing of the snow pack on slopes and flats.

Provo: no new observations - a lack of low and mid elevation snow in the Provo area mountains makes it difficult to access the deeper snowpack at the upper elevations.

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

The slopes near the upper elevation ridgelines were spooky yesterday, due to cracking of new wind drifts or simply cracking in the new, dense wind affected snow. The drifts and poorly bonded newest snow will continue to be sensitive today, especially at the highest elevations where sustained wind speeds of 30 mph are possible today, strong enough to continue to drift the dense snow.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

The snowpack is becoming increasingly complex at the upper elevations, with two faceted weak layers to worry about. The upper most layer, formed in late November, is now buried about 6 to 10” deep, composed of near surface facets or weak, loose recrystallized graupel, pooled below chutes and cliff bands. This upper layer could be triggered by a person, most likely on a steep, heavily wind drifted slope, or by a smaller slide stepping down. The second faceted layer, the weak October snow near the ground, is only on high elevation shady slopes, and would require a large trigger to release.

Additional Information

A complete pattern shift will finally bring some winter temperatures to the northern Utah mountains. The Alaska low is being replaced by a ridge, and northern Utah will be under an increasingly cold, northwesterly flow into next week. Today, skies will be mostly cloudy, and 10,000’ temperatures will gradually cool to near 20. 8,000’ highs will be near 30. The winds will remain westerly, less than 15 mph, except across the highest ridges, where averages to 30 mph are possible. Snow flurries are possible tonight and Friday, with several inches of snow forecast on Saturday as the cold front drops into the area.

General Announcements

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

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This advisory is produced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. Specific terrain and route finding decisions should always be based on skills learned in a field-based avalanche class.

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