Ogden Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

This winter’s Snowbird fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center will be a relaxed, après-ski party Saturday, February 6, from 4:30-7. Hours d’oeuvres, beer, wine, music and a silent auction. Golden Cliff, Cliff Lodge, $50. For more info and to purchase tickets, click HERE.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on mid and upper elevation slopes facing west through north through southeast, approaching about 35 degrees or steeper. Deep, unsurvivable avalanches breaking near the ground can be triggered, both on, below or adjacent to these steep slopes. Safe travel in the backcountry requires excellent route finding and terrain evaluation skills, and staying on slopes less steep than about 30 degrees. Wet avalanche activity may occur with daytime heating.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

It’s going to be another tough day for sightseeing – this morning’s overcast skies and light snow should continue for most of the day. The southwesterly wind speeds are delightfully low, in the 5 to 10 mph range at all elevations. Temperatures are balmy for mid January, in the upper teens to mid 20’s. Turning and riding is excellent on low angle slopes, with 2 to 4” of dense powder capping the snowpack.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Yesterday was a quiet day in the backcountry, with no reports of human triggered avalanches. But there are a couple of good indicators that the snowpack is nowhere near stabilized - WPG's threw one explosive shot on a 10,000’, east facing slope in Dry Fork, releasing a big slide that propagated uphill and in Big Cottonwood, explosive control work released numerous slides to the ground on west and north and east facing slopes, 9,500’ and below. As always, check out our Current Conditions page for recent avalanche activity, photos and profiles, where the lists can now be sorted by region.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Monday, for the first time in weeks, I experienced that inexpressible feeling of skiing steep, deep powder…at a resort. Yesterday, it was a return to the equally indefinable experience of untracked backcountry powder - but on low angle slopes. With the right attitude, it’s the best of the two worlds. If you want steep – it’s the resorts. If you want backcountry – it’s low angle slopes with rigorous attention to terrain evaluation and safe travel procedures.

While many backcountry slopes have avalanched, there are numerous fat, white slopes just waiting for a trigger…and all underlain by angular, weak faceted snow. With the natural avalanche cycle over, delayed release and remotely triggered slides have been theme over the past few days. Slopes that have been skied or hit with explosives then release with the weight of a person, either on slope or from a distance. Slides are becoming less frequent, but anything you trigger will be deep and dangerous. Be aware of the whole terrain picture – not only remain on slopes of about 30 degrees or less, but also avoid terrain below and adjacent to steep slopes, including low elevation terrain traps such as cut-banks above roads and creekbeds.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 9 hours.

If the clouds thin today or the sun peeks out, the snowpack will rapidly heat on steep, sunny, southerly through westerly facing slopes, and possibly all low elevation slopes. Damp sluffs and shallow slabs will be easily triggered.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

It’s going to be another very damp feeling day in the mountains – a weak disturbance moving across northern Utah should keep the humidity up and drop another inch or two of dense snow before clearing late tonight. Temperatures today will be in the mid 20s to low 30s at 8,000’ and low 20s at 10,000’. Winds will be light and variable. High pressure moves in for Thursday and Friday, followed by a chance for a small storm around Sunday, maybe producing just enough snow to fill in the tracks.


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.