Ogden Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Bruce Tremper

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

UDOTwill close Little Cottonwood Canyon sometime this afternoon for for avalanche control so be prepared for delays.

UAC CLOSING AFTER THIS WEEKEND: Sunday will be our last day of issuing advisories for the season as our piggy bank has run dry.

We will continue to accept and publish observations from backcountry users who submit them. You can find them in the Current Conditions off the main menu.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to your community avalanche center. We are a Forest Service program but over 3/4 of the funding comes from other partners. This includes: all of your donations through Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Public Safety, Salt Lake County, Black Diamond, Backcountry.com, all the ski areas that donated lift tickets, Ski Utah, Unified Fire Authority and the various shops that donate snowmobiles and other equipment such as Polaris/Tri-City Performance, Weller's Recreation/Ski Doo and Arctic Cat/Big Pine Sports, Recco, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, Back Country Access and ABS.

We are still collecting feedback from you with our 10 question survey. Please feel free to let us know you’re thoughts. CLICK FOR SURVEY


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 (Level 3), possibly with pockets of HIGH (Level 4) danger for wet avalanches on any steep slope getting wet and soggy from the heat of the sun. You will find these mostly on slopes facing the south half of the compass but you will find them on most all aspects and elevations. Also expect cornices to calve off so be suspicious of steep slopes with large cornices above.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Ridge top temperatures are 5 degrees warmer this morning than yesterday morning. They are near freezing this morning but should be around 40 degrees this afternoon. Temperatures are colder in the basin bottoms, so there is probably a stouter crust in the basin bottoms but just a thin refreeze at upper elevations. The winds are still blowing fairly hard but are expected to drop significanty by mid day.

As far as turning conditions, my mother always taught me that if I didn't have anything good to say about someone, don't say anything at all. So I shall remanin silent about the heinous, breakable rime crust at upper elevations and the lurch-and-jerk glop and roller balls on all the other slopes. Snowmobiles are probably the vehicle of choice today.


RECENT ACTIVITY

There was widespread wet sluffs and roller balls on any steep, sun exposed slope yesterday except for non-south-facing slopes above 10,000'.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Just like people, snow does not like rapid change. To a cold, dry snowpack, these rapid, spring heat waves come as quite a shock. Imagine how you feel diving into an ice water lake on a hot day--yeooow!

Today will be the warmest day of the season so far and Saturday should be even warmer. So expect even more wet sluffs and occasional wet slabs especially in the heat of the afternoon. Yesterday the strong winds kept wet activity to a minimum on upper elevation terrain but we expect winds to drop by about noon so the sun exposed slopes should really cook.

Especially after noon, stay on gentle terrain out from underneath steep, sun exposed slopes.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 12 hours.

With all the snow and wind we've had in March, cornices are enormous. With strong, sustained warming, many of these creaking school busses will calve off and make larger avalanches beneath them. Choose terrain carefully today to stay out from underneath steep, corniced slopes.


THREAT #3

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

There are many fat, nasty-looking pillows along the upper ridges and some of these may still be sensitive today especially if they are cooking in the sun.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We'll have another gorgeous day in the mountains with clear skies and very warm temperatures. Ridge top temperatures should be around 40 degrees with 8,000' temperatures around 50. Ridge top winds continue to blow moderate to strong this morning but should drop significantly by noon.

We should have a thin to no refreeze tonight with even warmer temperatures on Saturday, but by afternoon, strong winds from the southwest should pick up in advance of a stong cold front on Saturday night and Sunday, which should give us perhaps 8 inches of new snow.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

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.

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.

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.


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.