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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Monday morning, March 28, 2016

The morning starts out generally Low but for isolated pockets of wind slab along the lee of ridgelines at the mid and upper elevations. Keep an eye out for cracking or collapsing in any recent wind deposited snow. There is a great deal of uncertainty with this type of storm system, so I'll hazard a guess of the danger rising to MODERATE for storm snow instabilities on all aspects at the mid and upper elevations with new drifting in the high northerly terrain. The danger may be more pronounced in the Logan and Ogden area mountains today.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow

Skies are overcast with snow just starting to fall in the mountains. Temps are in the mid to upper 20s. The southerly winds picked up just after dinner last night and blew 25-40mph with gusts into the 40s and 50s. Even the somewhat more protected Reynolds Peak anemometer in BCC at 9400' was humming at 30-40 with gusts into the 50s overnight. They've since dropped off a bit.

We continue to hear about odd and unusual uptracks and routes in our full-to-the-brim backcountry. One observer noted - "I noticed lots of up routes in somewhat unconventional places; Direct routes such as bootpacks up Oingo Boingo, skinners up steep N facing gullys below large cornices and the like. This type of travel is ok when conditions permit, and if you are up for taking more risk. I don't believe its good form though, and while this next storm comes through that mindset will have to change."

And,

"This is the Red Pine Lake shot with a skin track going right up the main ski shot. I felt it important to let these skiers know there is a better, well protected route up through the trees to the left of the screen. The uptrack in these trees provides access to the ridge as well." (Smith)

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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

I backed off a couloir yesterday in the Provo mountains. You can read a quick write-up here. And this was before the winds really started cranking. I noted patchwork facet-wind crust and shallow facet/wind drift combinations along the snow surfaces in the northerly mid and upper elevations yesterday. UDOT forecaster and ski guide Matt Primomo found surface and upper pack weaknesses in his report from Days Fork yesterday. (photos below of weak surface snow and upper 6" of snow structure on left and minor wind drift I found along the lower north ridge of Timp.)

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

A great deal of uncertainty lies with this type of storm system so I'll need to default to the conservative forecast. Remember that storm snow sensitivities are more pronounced during high rates of snowfall and may tend to bond poorly to some of the snow surfaces in the mid to upper elevation sheltered northerly slopes.

Additional Information

A large, slow moving upper level closed Low pressure system has moved into the area and will affect the state over the next few days. Much is determined by where the center of the storm sets up and therefore there is much uncertainty who gets the bulk of the snow and how much. I may hedge my bets and call for 4-8" today. Winds should be from the south at 15-20mph but increasing by afternoon into the overnight hours. Colder air moves in with the Low tomorrow with additional snowfall. All said, we may see 1-2' of snow by mid to late week.

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Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

To get help in an emergency (to request a rescue) in the Wasatch, call 911. Be prepared to give your GPS coordinates or the run name. Dispatchers have a copy of the Wasatch Backcountry Ski map.

Backcountry Emergencies. It outlines your step-by-step method in the event of a winter backcountry incident.

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry, but no one is hurt and you do not need assistance, please notify the nearest ski area dispatch to avoid a needless response by rescue teams. Thanks.

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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist.

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