Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Monday - March 19, 2018 - 7:13am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is MODERATE – human triggered avalanches are possible, so evaluate the snow and your choice of terrain carefully. These are the avalanche problems:

Persistent slab avalanches can be triggered in isolated areas – steep slopes facing northwet through easterly with a shallower snowpack at the mid and upper elevations are the most suspect.

Wet loose sluffs: can be triggered on steeps slopes if the sun comes out or the snow heats where you are

Wind slabs and cornices: avoid the new wind drifts on steep slopes, which are more widespread than yesterday due to the overnight winds. Avoid travel on and below cornices.




special announcement

current conditions

Skies are partly cloudy this morning and temperatures dropped into the teens and lower 20s overnight. Scattered snow showers yesterday and overnight added another 2 to 4” of snow, capping off the very uneven storm totals of 9" to over 2 feet. The winds remain from the north to northwest this morning, with most stations averaging less than 10 mph (even Mt Ogden!!). Of note – wind speeds were faster overnight – from the NW, with averages of 25 mph, gusting in the 30s, on Mt Ogden.

recent activity

No new backcountry observations from the Ogden area mountains. Avalanche mitigation work at the Ogden area resorts resulted in a couple of hard slab avalanches at the upper elevations on northerly facing slopes, large enough to bury a person, and soft slab new snow slides, large enough to catch and carry a person.

Though from Brighton - a great photo of a slide triggered Saturday in a shallow, rocky snowpack area. Saturday, March 17 – lower portion of a snowboarder triggered avalanche in a closed area on Millicent. Photo: Brighton Ski Patrol

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

With all the new snow this past week, it is still possible to trigger a persistent avalanche breaking on a weak facet layer in the snowpack. A persistent slab avalanche could be triggered by a person or a smaller slide - especially avoid steep, complex terrain with sharp break overs, rocks or cliffs and shallow snowpack areas, such as slopes that have already slid one or more times this year. Always be aware of the consequences should you be caught in a slide - long steep slopes, trees and gullies in your path are bad news.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 12 hours
description

The sun and clouds will be playing cat and mouse today, with a mix of clearing, high thin clouds and mid level clouds.

If the snow starts to heat where you are – signs such as snow falling off trees, easily triggered roller balls, the surface snow becoming damp – it’s time to move to a cooler aspect or low angle terrain. Once you get a wet loose sluffs moving, it could entrain snow as it moves down slope, even gouging into the deeper rain soaked wet snow at the mid and lower elevations. Avoid even the small terrain traps like gullies and creek beds, where a little slide can pile debris up deeply

Avalanche Problem 3
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

There will be new wind slabs at the upper elevations this morning, due to the stronger overnight northwesterly winds. The drifts will be most prevalent on southerly and easterly facing slopes, and more widespread than yesterday. But look for drifting on all aspects. Cornices continue to be sensitive, so stay way back from the edges.

weather

March weather is like a yoyo – going up and down between winter and spring. We’re moving into spring today, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures warming into the mid to upper 20s at 9,000’. The northwesterly winds should remain light all day, 5 to 15 mph at the mid elevations, with the high peaks only averaging 10 to 20 mph. Warm and dry again on Tuesday, followed by a moist storm system arriving Wednesday. An unfortunately high rain/snow line is expected Wednesday and Thursday, but colder air arrives for the weekend, dropping the snow levels.

general announcements

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ

The UAC has new support programs with Outdoor Research and Darn Tough. Support the UAC through your daily shopping. When you shop at Smith's, or online at Outdoor Research, REI, Backcountry.com, Darn Tough, Patagonia, NRS, Amazon, eBay a portion of your purchase will be donated to the FUAC. See our Donate Page for more details on how you can support the UAC when you shop.

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.