Hello
and good morning, this is Toby Weed of the
Current Conditions:
If you’re still trying to decide This could be the last day
you’ll be able to find any nice cold and dry snow, since it’ll warm up
significantly over the weekend.
e National Weather Service in
Avalanche Conditions:
Not much to report as far
as recent avalanche activity across the state is concerned. We’ve received reports of a few small and
easy to deal with ridge-top wind slabs in the
As today’s snow piles up on steep slopes, the avalanche danger will rise. Freshly formed or forming soft slabs consisting of today’s new snow will likely be the biggest threat, with dry sluffs and cornice falls also possible. For the most part, potential new snow avalanches should be easy to initiate and very manageable, but you’ll want to pay attention to the possible consequences of even small avalanches. It doesn’t take a whole lot of moving snow to push you into or through trees or to pile up deeply in one of our numerous avalanche collecting gullies. The huge cornices in the region now present an obvious danger, especially when it’s stormy, windy, or warm. Large cornices could be sensitive to your weight today and may break further back than you expect. It is always a good idea in the spring to stay off of and out from under these monsters.
I
don’t expect much of a problem with wet avalanches today, but as soon as the
intense, high angled spring sun comes out and temperatures rise back up near
normal for this time of year the fresh snow will quickly become saturated and
prone to wet avalanching. This scenario
is likely to play out in the next few days, and you should avoid steep slopes
with saturated surface snow.
Bottom Line:
There’s a LOW danger this morning in the backcountry, and avalanches are
generally unlikely. The danger will rise
to MODERATE and triggered soft slab avalanches
and dry sluffs will become more possible as today’s new snow piles up on steep
slopes, especially in exposed upper elevation terrain. The danger of wet
avalanches will increase on steep slopes with saturated fresh snow in the next
couple days, as soon as the intense spring sun peaks out or temperatures rise
to near normal for this time of year.
Mountain Weather: A Pacific Storm will affect the region
today, with 6 to10 inches of accumulation likely and more possible in favored
upper elevation areas. It should clear
up as a shot-lived high pressure system builds in overnight. The next storm will move into the region late
tomorrow and linger into Wednesday.
Looks like a warming trend for later in the week.
Even though you can ride
anywhere these days, you should be sure to keep motor vehicles in terrain
that’s open. Riding on public lands designated as “closed to motor vehicles” or
as a National Forest Wilderness only jeopardizes the future of our sport, and
fines for motor vehicle trespass have been recently increased. (MV wilderness trespass
photos)
Check
out the images page for photos of some of this season’s avalanches.
Go to the Avalanche
Encyclopedia if you have any questions about terms I use in
the advisory.
I'm very interested to know what you're seeing out there.
Please e-mail observations to me at [email protected] or leave me a message
at 755-3638, especially if you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry.
We keep all observations confidential.
This advisory will expire in 24 hours from the posting time.
As the kids are out on spring break, I’m heading south for a
few days and will not update this advisory as usual on Wednesday. I will issue advisories for the coming
weekend, with the next on Friday. Go to
the Wasatch Advisory for updated and relevant
backcountry avalanche information.
The information in this advisory is from the
U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This
advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always
occur.