Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Thursday - November 12, 2015 - 7:07am
bottom line

Despite the new snow, the primary danger is still hitting rocks and stumps. Look for fresh wind slabs formed by increased NW winds this morning. For today, look for unstable snow in isolated areas and the avalanche danger is rated LOW.

We will continue issuing intermittent advisories until more snow comes.
current conditions

Skies are clear with temps in the teens to mid-20s. Winds along the high ridgelines are westerly, now blowing 20mph after a night of hourly averages in the 30s. Most terrain up high has 6-12" of snow on thinly buried rocks and stumps.

Photo from Farmington Canyon prior to yesterday's storm:
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

Winds from the NW Wednesday morning produced drifts in the lee of ridgelines and into chutes and gullies, resulting in four human triggered slides in the Central Wasatch. Watch for and avoid any fresh wind slabs today. These wind slabs may fracture where they rest on low density new snow.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Early Season Info

Remember in this early season you must the mountain resorts as having a backcountry snowpack - we often have early season accidents each season.

Please check in as different mountain resorts have different uphill policies. Some resorts are open to uphill traffic before they open, others not. Please obey all signs, and if you've got questions, stop in and talk to an employee.

We're posting observations from the backcountry on a daily basis now. See or trigger an avalanche? Shooting cracks? Hear a collapse? It's simple. Go here to fill out an observation.
weather

Mostly sunny skies will give way to a few clouds as a clipper races by to the north. Otherwise, we'll have benign weather with light west to northwest winds and temps in the 20s at 10,000', the mid-30s at 8000'. High pressure builds over the next couple days ahead of the next system on the horizon for Sunday night. Some snow and much colder temps look to accompany this system, plunging temps to the low single digits.
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.

To get help in an emergency (to launch a rescue) in the Wasatch, call 911.  Be prepared to give your GPS coordinates or the run name. Dispatchers have a copy of the Wasatch Backcountry Ski map.

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry, but no one is hurt and you do not need assistance, please notify the nearest ski area dispatch to avoid a needless response by rescue teams. 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

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.