Forecast: Salt Lake Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Issued by Greg Gagne on
Friday morning, November 29, 2024

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on slopes facing west through north and east at the mid and upper elevations (including upper elevation southeast aspects) where it is possible to trigger an avalanche up to 2' deep failing on a persistent weak layer of faceted snow down near the ground. There is also a MODERATE danger on all aspects at the upper elevations for shallow wind drifts and small, wet-loose avalanches on southerly aspects.

I'm expecting a lot of you to be out enjoying what should be a glorious day - be sure to first check for - and yield to - people below before entering any steep slope.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Special Announcements

The 17th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) is scheduled for Saturday December 7th - Information and tickets available here .

If you trigger or see an avalanche adjacent to the road or one of the ski areas and are sure no one was caught in the avalanche, call the nearest mountain dispatch and alert them to the situation, this will allow SAR teams to stand down, preventing them from being subjected to unnecessary hazard.

Salt Lake and Park City – Alta Central- (801-742-2033)

Canyons Resort/PCMR Dispatch- (435 -615-1911)

Quick refresher on Backcountry Emergencies and Avalanche Response HERE. You may just save a life

Weather and Snow

This morning, the skies are clear with temperatures ranging from the mid-teens to the low 20's F. As cold air sinks, low-elevation trailheads are in the single digits. Winds are from the west and light (< 10 mph) with gusts around 15 mph at the uppermost elevations.

For today, skies will be sunny with temperatures rising into the mid 20's and low 30's F. Winds will be from the west and remain light through the mid-elevations. Upper-elevation winds will increase modestly throughout the day, with gusts around 30 mph.

Get used to the sunshine; there are no storms through at least the next seven days.

Recent Avalanches

Three skier/boarder triggered avalanches were reported from the backcountry on Thursday:

West Monitor Bowl (Park City Ridgeline) NE aspect at 9,800' 18-24" deep / 150' wide / 600` vertical.

Scott's Bowl (Park City Ridgeline) NE aspect at 9,800' 18" deep / 100' wide / 150' vertical.

Two Dogs* (Days Fork) NE aspect at 9,600' / 18" deep / 100' wide / 450' vertical. (Photo below)

(*The Two Dogs avalanche actually involved two avalanches as the party triggered a second avalanche lower down the slope on their exit.)

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

The three human-triggered avalanches from Thursday all ran on the persistent weak layer (PWL) of weak, faceted snow that is found at the base of our 2-3' deep snowpack on mid and upper elevation slopes facing west through north and east, including upper-elevation southeast. As this weak layer slowly adjusts to the weight of the storm snow from Tuesday, you may get fewer clues - such as cracking and collapsing - about this instability and tracks on a slope may give you a false sense of stability.

If you choose to venture onto slopes where this PWL exists, you will have to first dig down and look for the structure of strong (harder/firmer) snow on top of weak (softer/looser) snow (see image below). If you see this structure, it is possible you will trigger an avalanche up to 2' deep and over 100' wide.

Photo of the crown of the avalanche on Scott's Bowl that failed on the PWL:

Type

Location

Likelihood

Size

Description

If the winds increase during the day, watch for fresh, shallow wind drifts at the upper elevations.

General Announcements

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

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures