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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Issued by Bruce Tremper for
Thursday, January 3, 2013

Although it's mostly Low avalanche danger, areas of Moderate danger exist in the following areas:

  • Avoid any steep slope (34 degrees or steeper) with recent deposits of wind drifted snow, which you will find mostly in the upper elevations.
  • Avoid any steep slope if it is getting wet and soggy in the heat of the sun.
  • Continue to be cautious of deeper avalanche releases in shallow snowpack areas on the shady slopes (north and east quadrants of the compass).
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements

I will give a free talk tonight at Snowbird for the Utah Adventure Journal Speaker Series on the history of avalanche knowledge in the U.S. and a retrospective on my 35-year career in the avalanche business. It will be at Snowbird's Iron Blossom Lodge in the Wildflower Lounge at 6:00 pm, only 21 and over.

There are still a few spots left for the Women's Backcountry 101, For more information and to sign up, go to http://utahavalanchecenter.org/womens-backcountry-101

Just a couple slots left for our Snowbird Freeride Avalanche Summit, an avalanche and alpine skills seminar focused on steep lines, remote locations, and filming. Jan 6-8 2013. Details at http://utahavalanchecenter.org/2013-snowbird-freeride-avalanche-summit.

Weather and Snow

It's yet another beautiful day to get up above the valley smog into the warm, sunny mountains. It was clear again last night with temperature inversions in the mountain valleys-- single digits and mid teens in the valley bottoms but on the peaks the temperature is near 20 and should rise to near freezing today.

Riding conditions remain very good on the sun and wind sheltered slopes with a foot of fast-riding powder. The southerly facing slopes have a sun crust and with wind-damaged snow in the upper elevation, wind-exposed terrain.

Recent Avalanches

Yesterday, someone came upon what appeared to be a recently-triggered avalanche in the Canyons Resort backcountry off Pointy Peak. It was north facing, 9,000', 1' deep and 50' wide with ski tracks on top of the debris. This person did a beacon search to make sure no one was buried. This slide was not reported to the Canyons Ski Patrol, so as a reminder, be sure to report avalanches so that rescue crews do not endanger their lives searching unnecessarily.

There was one explosive-triggered wind slab in the Ogden area mountains but otherwise, no other reported avalanches.

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

The winds from the north these past few days have created many wind slabs in the upper elevation, wind exposed terrain--generally above 10,000' in the Salt Lake and Provo area mountains and above 9,000' in the Ogden area mountains. As always, avoid steep slopes (steeper than about 34 degrees) with recent wind deposits, which will usually look smooth and rounded and often sound hollow and feel hard or slabby.

Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

You may still be able to trigger some mostly-dormant deep-slabs on a deeply-bured layer of faceted snow, especially in the shallow snowpack areas outside of the upper Cottonwood Canyons.

Avalanche Problem #3
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Finally, as temperatures warm up today and through the weekend, you may find some localized wet sluffs in the steep, sun exposed terrain. Also watch for roof avalanches because this is the first thaw since our last two big snow storms.

Additional Information

The cold northerly wind has finally died down and temperatures are rapidly warming. Up above the valley smog, the mountains will be sunny and will continue to warm today through the weekend. Today the high on the ridge tops should be in the mid 20's to freezing and it should warm to just above freezing Friday through the weekend.

For the extended forecast, we have a weak system for around Sunday and Monday, which should bring some clouds and light snow showers but not much accumulation. There is a a chance for more significant snow in about a week.

General Announcements

Go to http://www.backcountry.com/utah-avalanche-center to get tickets from our partners at Beaver Mountain, Canyons, Sundance, and Wolf Mountain. All proceeds benefit the Utah Avalanche Center.

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)

Powder Mountain Ski Patrol Dispatch (801-745-3773 ex 123)

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

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

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

Wasatch Powderbird Guides does daily updates about where they'll be operating on this blog http://powderbird.blogspot.com/ .

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory bysubmitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

For a print version of this advisory click HERE.

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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