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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty for
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Pockets of MODERATE danger exist for both new and old wind slabs on many aspects, though you're more likely to find them today on steep east to south facing slopes above about 9500'. The danger for wet avalanche activity on the steep sunlight slopes will rise to MODERATE with daytime heating and sun through the afternoon.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow

A quick hitter is racing through this morning and good enough for 2-3" as of 5am. The northwesterlies remain breezy, blowing 20-25mph though they're showing some signs of easing up. Springtime temps have rebounded and are on average 15 to nearly 20 degrees warmer than they were yesterday at this time. Let a couple-few more inches play out, the winds ease a bit, the clouds dissipate and you'll have a pretty good day on your hands.

Recent Avalanches

Avalanche activity settled out markedly yesterday and the only snow movement we heard about were some explosive and ski cut induced wind slabs at the mountain resorts, a loose snow sluff in a very steep line in the Wolverine Cirque, and a 1' deep and 30' wide pocket in West Monitor (Janulaitis photo below).

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

Shallow new wind drifts from the current storm will be more sensitive than the old wind slabs they rest upon and are more classic bread-and-butter drifts than their predecessors. These will be in classic lee areas and just off the ridgelines, on predominantly easterly to southerly aspects. Continued warmer temps have likely settled out the rest of Tuesday's fury; still it's a Moderate danger out there still and not Low. Travel through terrain one-at-a-time, maintain good communication, and move from area of safety to area of safety.

Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

With expected clearing skies and temps rising to near 40 in the mountains, wet activity, particularly human - influenced wet activity will be on the rise. Wet rollerballs and shallow sluffs on the steepest slopes will be indicators that the snow is rapidly changing. Push-a-lanches, as demonstrated in yesterday's photo by Mark White below, will be again commonplace, though benign as long as you recognize their pattern and travel accordingly. Note - lower elevation sunny aspects have melted out.

Avalanche Problem #3
Cornice
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Both new and old cornices ride side-saddle with many of the alpine and sub-alpine ridges these days with some ridgelines harboring cornices on both sides of the ridgelines. We're not talking Alaska - Mt.Huntington-style double cornices, but every year we have some close calls with accidents now and again.

I've intentionally left the locator rose blank as it affects the overall danger rose at the top....

Additional Information

The storm will race off to the east leaving us with a nice layer of "finish paint" over the wind whales from later Tuesday. Winds should diminish and be generally light by the afternoon. We'll have clearing skies and a very pleasant day in the mountains. Tomorrow will be even nicer with clear to partly cloudy skies, light winds and temps in the upper 30s to upper 40s. Look for increasing winds Saturday afternoon ahead of another prolonged spring storm that looks as if it may last through mid-week.

General Announcements

Go to http://www.backcountry.com/utah-avalanche-center to get EVEN MORE DISCOUNTED tickets from our partners at Beaver Mountain and Sundance. 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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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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