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Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Paige Pagnucco
Issued by Paige Pagnucco for
Friday, January 6, 2017

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE at upper elevations. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist in some areas and careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential for safe travel in the backcountry today.

The avalanche danger is MODERATE at low and mid elevations. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully. Avoid steep, recently loaded slopes.

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

Ogden Avalanche Education
The Utah Avalanche Center is hosting a number of avalanche education opportunities in the Ogden area
from January 7th through January 14th. If you are new to the mountains or a seasoned backcountry traveler, there’s a class for you!

Saturday January 7th – 1:30pm (NOTE TIME CHANGE) – FREE Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness Presentation
Location: Powder Keg Bar at Powder Mountain

Thursday January 12th – 6pm – Introduction to Avalanches Class (registration is required)
Location: Amer Sports and Snowbasin (Field Day - Saturday January 14th)

Friday January 13th – 12:30pm – FREE Beacon Clinic – POW! day at Powder Mountain
Location: Main parking lot at Powder Mountain

Friday January 13th – 5-8pm – Companion Rescue Fundamentals Class (registration is required)
Location: Snowbasin Ski Resort

Friday January 13th – 6pm – FREE Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness Presentation
Location: AD Triple S Motorsports, West Haven, UT

_____________________________________________________________________

The Salt Lake City premier of The Fourth Phase from the creators of The Art of Flight will at Brewvies at 7 pm on Monday, Jan 9 as
a fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center. For tickets and details, visit https://utahavalanchecenter.org/event/fourth-phase

Weather and Snow

This morning's temperatures are biting - Ben Lomond trail is minus 10 F, Monte Cristo minus 4 F, and James Peak a balmy minus 1F. Depending on where you are, winds are currently from the north or east at 5-10 MPH with gusts on the highest peaks around 15-20 MPH. Wind chill values are in the negative teens. Staying warm will be the challenge today.

Riding conditions are pretty darn good. I expect the snow surface to harbor some new surface hoar and/or recrystallized snow due to the clear, cold night. Yesterday's reports from the Ogden zone were of excellent riding conditions no matter what the method of travel.

Storm totals in the Ogden area ranged from about 10-20".

Recent Avalanches

There were no reports of avalanche activity from the backcountry yesterday and avalanche reduction teams in the Ogden area mostly saw small wind and storm slabs. Winds were calm all day. Of note though is the effect that the strong storm winds had at lower elevations. Observers noted multiple slab avalanches in the lower elevation zone on roadsides, benches and steep cutbanks. The pre-existing shallow, weak snowpack was likely quickly overloaded by the added weight from both the snow and wind.

My advice today is to be patient. The snowpack is still adjusting to the newly added water weight. Though it appears to be stabilizing well, we are in the period of decreasing danger where avalanche accidents usually occur. Start conservative and increase your slope angles with caution, looking for signs of instability such as cracking or collapsing or recent avalanches. Dip your toe in the water before diving in, as they say.

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

Natural wind slab activity was most pronounced at lower elevations. Small wind slabs pulled out on unlikely slopes near roadways, benches and steep cutbanks. Though they'll likely be more stubborn today, it is still worth noting the unusual activity and practicing safe travel techniques when crossing under or near low elevation steep slopes that hold wind-loaded snow.

Buried wind slabs from Wednesday's strong winds are a concern as well. These are likely found at higher elevations though, having been covered up by the new snow, they will be harder to see. Pay attention to changes underfoot as you travel, especially if the snow suddenly feels firmer or has a hollow- like feeling. These will be tricky today as they are stubborn and may release only when you are well out on them.

Be mindful of cross-loaded slopes as well. The swirly storm winds created loaded areas in many terrain features like subridges and gullies. See photo below.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

There is still lots of untouched new snow out there at all elevations. The new snow fell on top of weak surface snow which on paper is a recipe for avalanches. Avoid steeper terrain and you'll avoid dealing with this issue. The snow surface conditions should allow you to stick to lower angle terrain and still have fun while giving the snowpack more time to adjust.

Avalanche Problem #3
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

With the weight of new snow from this week's storms, deeper layers in the snowpack are stressed. An observer in the Monte Cristo area found buried surface hoar about 2' feet down in the snowpack. This is exactly the type of weak layer that, when overloaded by snow and/or wind blown snow, can fail and cause a large avalanche. This problem exists in isolated areas so the best way to identify the hazard is to dig pits in multiple areas and look for buried weaknesses.

Though it's a faint line in this photo, buried surface hoar is visible about 2 feet down from the top.

(photo credit: Kory Davis)

Additional Information

It'll be frigid today with mountain temperatures forecast in the single digits. Winds will shift to the southwest and are thankfully expected to be minimal, though any breeze will make it feel much colder. Toe, hand and body warmers are all fair game. Exposed skin will be susceptible to frostbite. At least the sun will be out making for good visibility between frozen eyelashes.

Enjoy the cold now as a much warmer and wetter pattern is expected to arrive Saturday night/Sunday with unsettled conditions forecast for much of next week.

General Announcements

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.

EMAIL ADVISORY If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.

DAWN PATROL Hotline updated daily by 5-530am - 888-999-4019 option 8.

TWITTER Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS

UDOT canyon closures: LINK TO UDOT, or on Twitter, follow @UDOTavy, @CanyonAlerts or @AltaCentral

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.

Powderbird Helicopter Skiing - Blog/itinerary for the day

Lost or Found something in the backcountry? - http://nolofo.com/

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

To those skinning uphill at resorts: it is critical to know the resort policy on uphill travel. You can see the uphill travel policy for each resort here.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI: Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC. Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell. You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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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