Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Brett Kobernik for Monday - January 19, 2015 - 7:20am
bottom line

The overall avalanche danger is LOW in most terrain. The avalanche danger is at the low end of MODERATE for triggering a drift in the very steep upper elevation terrain. Again, consider consequences of even a small avalanche.




special announcement

AvaTech-SheJumps Happy Hour
When: Tuesday January 20th, 4-6PM Happy Hour
Where: Bandit's American Grill, 3176 East 6200 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84121
What: Come join SheJumps and AvaTech at Bandits post-ski Tuesday, January 20th for Happy Hour to celebrate our partnership in driving women's avalanche education and new avalanche safety technology. Beer and ladies who love backcountry skiing plus the latest in proactive avalanche technology. Thanks to Uinta Brewing Co. for their support of the event as well!

current conditions

Winds were a bit gusty on Sunday. People noted that some drifting was occurring mostly in the higher terrain with mention of things getting stirred up in a few of the mid elevation drainages. There has been quite a bit of wind damage in the higher terrain. Wind direction has been mostly from the west and speeds have slowed slightly since yesterday. We are seeing moderate speeds along the ridges with gusts in the 30s along the higher peaks.

Temperatures were quite warm on Sunday making the snow damp on all elevations below around 8000 feet. You'll find melt freeze crusts on east, south and west aspects in the higher terrain. Temperatures remained fairly mild overnight and are in the mid to upper 20s at most stations with some readings in the low 30s. We have some clouds moving through currently.

recent activity

No significant avalanche activity was reported from Sunday.

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Triggering a newer wind slab will be the most likely type of avalanche problem today. That being said, I think these newer drifts are fairly stubborn and not all that likely to release. Continue to watch for cracking as you travel today. Watch for "pillowy" looking drifts and hollow sounds. Consider the terrain you are in and what will happen if even a small slab catches you off guard.

weather

We'll see some clouds move through today with moderate speed west and northwest winds. We'll probably still have a few stronger gusts along the high terrain today. There's a slight chance for snow flurries. Temperatures won't get a whole lot warmer than the current readings and we'll see a slow cooling trend into mid week with a northerly flow. Skies clear more on Tuesday with lighter wind speeds and ridgetop highs in the upper 20s.

general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

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 and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322)

Snowbasin Resort Dispatch (801-620-1017), Powder Mountain Dispatch (801-745-3772 x 123).

Sundance Dispatch (801-223-4150)

EMAIL ADVISORY  If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.​ 

DAWN PATROL Hotline updated daily by 5-530am - 888-999-4019 option 8.

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS

UDOT canyon closures:  LINK TO UDOT, or on Twitter, follow @UDOTavy, @CanyonAlerts or @AltaCentral

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides Blog/Itinerary for the Day.  

Lost or Found something in the backcountry? - http://nolofo.com/

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com.  Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts.  All proceeds go towards paying for Utah Avalanche Center avalanche and mountain weather advisories.

To those skinning uphill at resorts:  it is your responsibility to know the resort policy on uphill travel.  You can see the uphill travel policy for each resort here. IMPORTANT: Before skinning or hiking at a resort under new snow conditions, check in with Ski Patrol.  Resorts can restrict or cut off access if incompatible with control and grooming operations.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI:  Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC.  Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell.  You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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 exist.