Ogden Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Drew Hardesty

BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

A MODERATE danger exists in the wind drifted upper elevation terrain as well as for longer running sluffs in the light density snow. You’ll find better riding conditions and a mostly LOW danger on slopes of 30-35 degrees. The Provo mountains have an overall LOW danger.

It should be a feeding frenzy in the backcountry – communicate within your group and to other parties regarding safe travel protocol and terrain management.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

The fourth day of spring -

Japanese cherry blossoms

can fend for themselves.

When the stars align – the moisture, the cold air aloft, the orographic support….. Big Cottonwood, Ogden, and Park City pulled in 8-12”, with Provo perhaps seeing only settlement on the total snow stake. Storm totals, are up to 28” of cold smoke in upper Little Cottonwood. Initial densities of 9% plunged to 5% over the course of the day. It’s still lightly snowing, but the clouds should break in the next hour or so.Temps are in the teens and the stronger northwesterly winds have backed down into the light to moderate category. Yesterday you’d bottom out on the old scratchy snow surface if you dragged your tails, but riding conditions should improved today with natural settlement.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Absent a weak snow surface or mid-pack issues, activity was relegated to loose snow sluffs and garden variety wind-driven soft slabs up to 8-12” deep. The widest reported to be 70’ wide. These were/are all manageable issues with instant gratification triggering at your skis or ride for experienced individuals. Gustier northwesterly winds drove snow at times up canyon and up into the starting and mid-starting zones, explaining the whales that you’ll see in some of the higher northerly terrain.

Interesting to note the continued streams of free running water down the side of the canyon road in the afternoon – evidence perhaps of continued melting and percolation beneath the return of winter…


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

The initial warm snow bonded well to the old, warm and dusty, corrugated snow surfaces and yesterday’s failure planes were just within the new snow, often 6-8” down. This has likely healed and bonded overnight, with instabilities now focused on the stronger overnight northwesterly winds. You’ll still find lingering soft slabs up to 2’ deep in areas that saw the most snow. Look for rounded pillowy features in the snow and, if safe, drop a cornice or slope cut before committing to the steeper terrain.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Any direct sun today is likely to initiate some dry sluffing in the low density snow. Be alert to moving and entraining low density snow and your relationship, if any, to terrain traps below.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll have some clearing this morning as we sit between the departing storm and the next, weaker system arriving on the northwest flow this afternoon. A few inches of snow will accompany this disturbance, though it’ll look like an appetizer for Wednesday afternoon into Thursday’s strong Pacific storm. Looks in some ways similar to this last one, with 12-18” expected for favored areas.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not fly yesterday, and will have one ship in the Northern Powder circuit and Mill Creek. Check their operations planning page is here.

Our web site is now formatted for iPhone. You can also download a free iPhone application from Canyon Sports to display the Bottom Line. Search for Utah Avalanche on the Apple's iPhone Apps page or in iTunes.

The North American Avalanche Danger Scale is being revised for next winter. Our friends in Canada have created a short survey found at the following link. Please help ensure the new Avalanche Danger Scale is effective by completing a survey. http://surveys.globalepanel.com/wix/p319164581.aspx

Beacon training parks are up and running! There is one at Snowbasin, one on the Park City side at the top of Canyon’s gondola toward the Tombstone lift, one in Little Cottonwood near the Snowbird parking structure on the bypass road, and in Big Cottonwood a training park is at the west end of Solitude's lower parking lot.

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.

For a text only version, the link is on the left side bar, near the top.

UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838. Our statewide toll free line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work. To find out more about how you can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and education that you expect please visitour Friends page.

Your snow and avalanche observations can save someone’s life. Please let us know what you're seeing by leaving a message at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (Fax 801-524-6301).

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.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 tomorrow morning.


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 occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.