Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Sunday - March 25, 2018 - 6:46am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is MODERATE at the upper elevations on steep, wind drifted slopes. These Wind Slabs will be most widespread on northerly facing slopes.

There is also a MODERATE danger for the isolated chance of triggering a Persistent Slab avalanche 1 to 3 feet deep on northerly through easterly facing slopes at the upper elevations. Slopes that are rocky or have a shallower snowpack are most suspect, especially in terrain that has slid one or more times this year
special announcement

Support the Snowbasin Avalanche Rescue Dog program at Alleged on Wednesday, March 28 at 6pm. Details here.

We have lift tickets for Snowbasin and Powder Mountain remaining. The tickets are discounted an additional 20%. Details and order information here. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!
current conditions

Skies are cloudy this morning, and temperatures dropped into the twenties at most Ogden mountain stations, with a few 30s at the low elevation trail heads. Should be a solid refreeze. Southerly winds are blustery – averaging 15 to 25 mph at mid elevations, with speeds at the Mt Ogden station averaging as high as 45 mph overnight, with gusts in the 50s. Speeds are starting to drop off as of 6 am.

The Thursday/Friday drenching fast-forwarded our snowpack to mid April – continuing to melt out trailheads and creating isothermal snow at low to mid elevations, which is strong when frozen, weak when wet. Even upper elevation northerly facing slopes have dense snow.

The hard icy snow will not soften for the next few days, so again, think spring - sharpen your edges, consider ice axes, crampons, whippets or ski crampons, depending on your project – “slide for life’s” are a real concern.
recent activity

No avalanche activity reported from the Ogden area mountains yesterday. The new isolated wind slabs were unreactive to explosives or ski cuts.

An avalanche was spotted on Willard Peak Friday. While it looks small in the picture, it must be very deep because the photo was taken from so far away. (N. Scarlett)
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

The persistent southerly winds continued to drift snow all night, mostly at the higher elevations onto northerly facing slopes. These sensitive wind slabs will be found mostly along ridge lines, but watch for drifts cross-loaded along gully walls and onto other aspects by the swirling winds.
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

The loading from 1.5 to 2 inches of precipitation has added a lot of stress to the snowpack. Weak, faceted snow still exists near the ground on mid and high elevation slopes. Avalanches can still break 1-3 feet deep especially on slopes above 8000 feet in steep rocky areas. The natural slide spotted on Willard Peak is a good example. That slide broke deep in the snowpack and ran a very long distance.
weather
The cold front entering northwest Utah this morning will bring increasing clouds with light snow starting this afternoon. Snow totals today through Monday morning should add up to 4 to 8”. Temperatures today will remain in the 20s to low 30s, and then cool into the teens tonight. The brisk, southerly winds will gradually decrease through out the day, and drop even more after they shift to the northwest tonight. A few lingering snow showers on Monday, and much colder.
Check out our Ogden weather page here.
general announcements

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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.