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Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik for
Saturday, March 16, 2013

The overall avalanche danger remains CONSIDERABLE today for wet avalanches. Avoid being in confined terrain such as gullies, chutes and coliours as well as below steep avalanche paths. Get off of steep slopes as they become "punchy" during the day due to warming.

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Weather and Snow

Today marks the third day in a row with overnight low temperatures in the mid to upper 30s in the 9000 foot range. Winds are light from the west southwest with some moderate speed gusts along the highest peaks. Despite the warm temperatures and overnight cloud cover, A superficial refreeze of the snow surface may be present in the form of a melt freeze crust.

Recent Avalanches

A natural wet snow avalanche cycle occurred on Friday with numerous wet loose avalanches and some wet slabs as well. Areas with a shallow overall depth allowed the loose snow avalanches to gouge deep and entrain a lot of snow. The thinner locations were also the most likely to produce wet slabs due to the underlying preexisting weak faceted snow. One skier triggered wet slab avalanche occurred on Friday as well. The skier was able to get off the slab although noted this was tricky and quite hair raising due to sticky conditions making maneuvering on skis difficult.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
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Description

Today is not the day to try and go get into big terrain especially if it involves being in any confined gullies, chutes or coliours. While it won't be as warm today as on Friday, the continued warmth coupled with buried weak snow has me concerned. Natural avalanches are the cause of half of the wet avalanche fatalities and wet avalanches are again possible today. Be aware of what type of terrain is above you especially if you can't see it. Human triggered wet slab avalanches are also possible again today. This is the first dramatic warm up that's affecting areas that were holding cold, faceted weak snow. As this snow goes through the warming process for the first time it often becomes unstable. This will pass, be patient. Perhaps yesterday was the apex of activity but we didn't cool enough overnight to rule it out today.

Ev noted a number of wet avalanche related concerns in her advisory yesterday which I think are pertinent:

  • Wet loose avalanches – these sluffs are gouging down, entraining extra snow. They can run long distances in confined tracks or gullies.
  • Wet slabs – the old faceted layers in the snowpack add to the chance of wet slabs, especially on northwest through easterly facing slopes
  • Glide cracks will continue to open, and can release at any time. Avoid crossing beneath these cracks. Broads Fork observation HERE.
  • Roof-a-lanches – roofs are shedding their snow and ice into deep, dense piles. .
  • Cornices falls, possibly triggering a slide.
  • While there is no snow on low elevation south through west facing slopes, a few long running naturals may travel down gullies to dirt trails.
Additional Information

High temperatures today won't be as warm as on Friday but will still be into the upper 30s and low 40s along the ridges. Skies should clear a bit as the day progresses. Winds will be light to moderate in speed from a westerly direction. Temperatures will start to cool tonight as a storm moves into our area for Sunday producing a shot of snow. It's not looking big, perhaps just 2 to 5 inches of snow by Sunday night.

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.

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Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

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UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838Wasatch 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.

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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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