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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty for
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Wind and sun will have the danger at MODERATE today. Human triggered avalanches are possible with both reactive wind slabs and wet loose slides the main concern. Direct sun and daytime warming will amplify the sensitivity of the recent wind drifts today. The lower elevation northerly slopes will also become weak and saturated with daytime highs.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements

The 12 Hours of Canyons is a GO for the night of March 29. The registration page for individuals is here and for teams is here.

1. REGISTER FOR THE EVENT: If you didn’t participate in the 12 Hours of Snowbird, you blew it. It. Was. Awesome. A $200 donation to the UAC is a pittance for the opportunity to rail arcs in the dark. This one of the rare opportunities to do good by having fun—don’t miss it.

2. SPREAD THE WORD: Reach out to family and friends in your corner of the ski world. Encourage them to participate with you and, if they insist on missing out on the fun, encourage them to make a donation of support to someone who is participating (like you).

Weather and Snow

Wind.

The west to northwest winds were relentless yesterday, blowing 30-40mph with gusts into the 50s. Higher, more exposed anemometers suffered averages in the 50s with gusts well into the 70s. They've calmed down some, but remain well in the moderate category.

Snow.

The weak disturbance this morning was enough for a trace to 2 (if you let the wind blow it up against the snow stake) at most mountain locations, though if you blinked most likely you missed it.

Temperatures.

Overnight lows are in the mid 20s. Low elevations suffered a poor going-through-the motions-at-best refreeze with "lows" in the mid to upper 30s. These balmy temps combined with the cloud cover will conspire to weaken the lower elevation shady slopes.

Cloud cover.

Overcast now, though becoming partly cloudy by - perhaps - midday...

Recent Avalanches

Shallow and pockety wind drifts continued to dominate the upper elevation easterly and southerly landscape yesterday. Most were 6-8" deep and 40' wide.

We heard of an avalanche involvement in the Wolverine Cirque from Sunday. This is "extreme terrain" where it sounds like the skier triggered the wind slab on an upper ledge, straight-lined it through the chute, and had the debris cascade over the ledge onto the skier, dragging him down for a 500' ride. Apparently there were no injuries.

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

Soft and hard wind slabs will again be the primary concern for today. They'll be most prominent on the steep lee northeast through south facing slopes above about 9500', though the strong winds will likely have a few rogue drifts cross-loaded and eddied well off the ridgelines. Look for smooth, rounded, textured whales and pillows in and above treeline today. If you're looking for trouble, wait for the sun to come out and center-punch say, Superior in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Remember, soft slabs you're "in", hard slabs you're "on top of". The first are mitigated by "experts" through ski and slope cuts and cornice drops. The second are much more diabolical - they may not respond to the above measures and will allow you to get well out onto the slab before triggering the whale where the pillowed lens tapers down - pulling down on top of you. Shooting cracks and some collapsing will give some hint. Warming and sun today may provide just enough coaxing to keep the new and old drifts sensitive to human triggering. If you have time to kill, take a look at my quick note on wind slabs from yesterday.

Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

As noted in Current Conditions, above, the poor refreeze and cloud cover will foment wet avalanche activity on the shady lower elevation terrain. Avoid being in or beneath steep terrain traps such as Donut Falls in lower Cardiff Fork of BCC. For the southerly aspects, cloud cover and heating will be key. Springtime in the Wasatch - with our relatively low latitude and elevations, wet activity can turn on a dime with direct sun. New cold snow and cold snow drifts blanket Sunday's melt freeze crusts and may be ripe for triggering in the steep terrain.

Red flags -

  • If you can punch your ski pole or probe - or worse yet - foot penetration (as we call it in the Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Guidelines world) is to the ground through wet or damp snow -
  • Roller balls and pinwheels are initial signs of surface warming...with wet activity likely soon to follow.
Avalanche Problem #3
Cornice
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Significant warming through the week will soften these new and old hard waves of snow that drape over the high predominantly northeast through southeast facing slopes in the alpine. Warning! - they will often break back well behind the spine of the ridgeline and may be enough of a thump to trigger a slide on the slope. Extra caution is advised if traveling along the ridges.

Additional Information

The weak wave moving through will soon have Utah in the rearview mirror and skies will start to become mostly then partly cloudy. The northwesterly winds should diminish as the day wears on, but speeds in the 20-25mph range will be found at the 10-11,000' level. Temps will rise to the mid to upper 20s at 10,000', the mid to upper 30s at 8000'. Springtime weather will be in full force through the week with light winds and 10,000' temps rising to 40 by Friday. Models hint at first a weak system then a stronger one for late Sunday.

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 (801-745-3772 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 by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet.

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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