Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Mark Staples for Wednesday - April 12, 2017 - 6:04am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is LOW this morning and will rise to MODERATE as the day warms and loose, wet avalanches become possible.
special announcement

Garage Sale - All proceeds benefit the Utah Avalanche Center

One day of private guiding for 2 people donated by Utah Mountain Adventures for $250. Contact [email protected]

One pair of Black Diamond Helio 116 skis, size 176 cm for $600. Contact [email protected]

Snowbasin Lift tickets available for $50 go HERE to purchase or call 800-233-7189
current conditions

Early this morning around 3 a.m. skies cleared but air temperatures remained just above freezing except at the highest elevations near 9000 feet. This morning winds are blowing 5-10 mph from the SW. Yesterday's high temperatures were in the low 50's and upper 40's F.

Snow conditions should be a mix of wet snow at lower elevations and crusty, refrozen snow at upper elevations and on slopes with a clear view of the sky.
recent activity

Despite warm cloudy skies yesterday, cool winds kept the snow from heating up too much and causing wet loose avalanches.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 12 hours
description

If it's not wet already, the snow should melt and become wet pretty quickly this morning as the sun rises and temperatures warm. Fortunately, the snowpack has had a gradual warm up since the last snow on Sunday. The snowpack is like people and responds better to gradual change, thus I don't expect much significant wet snow avalanche activity today.

Watch for pinwheels and roller balls to know that the snow is getting wet and the danger of loose wet avalanches is increasing.
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

Wind slabs may exist at the highest elevations near Ogden. Increased winds formed a few fresh wind slabs that skiers triggered near SLC yesterday.

Large cornices remain a concern. Stay well back from the edges of the huge cornices along the ridge lines and avoid travel beneath them. It’s very hard to know how overhung they are. Five hikers died in Canada this weekend when a massive cornice broke underneath them. Read more in this ARTICLE.
weather

More clear sunny skies and warm temperatures. While snow conditions won't be ideal, the weather will be beautiful. High temperatures will easily climb into the 50's and low 60's F. Warm south winds will blow 5-15 mph today and gust 30-40 mph. An approaching cold front will bring increased winds on Thursday. This cold front will arrive late Thursday with clouds, strong winds, and a little precipitation.
general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out 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 request 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.

Backcountry Emergencies. It outlines your step-by-step method in the event of a winter backcountry incident.

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.

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.

Powderbird Helicopter Skiing - 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 critical to know the resort policy on uphill travel. You can see the uphill travel policy for each resort here.

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 occur