Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Ogden Area Mountains Issued by Mark Staples for Wednesday - April 4, 2018 - 6:24am
bottom line

Avalanche conditions are generally safe and the danger is LOW. Watch for and avoid fresh wind drifts. These drifts should be small and not very sensitive. Hard, icy conditions also exist. While not an avalanche hazard, these "slide for life" conditions add an additional hazard in very steep terrain.
special announcement

Lift tickets for Snowbasin and Powder Mountain remaining. The tickets are discounted almost 50%. Details and order information here. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!
current conditions

Temperatures this morning are mostly in the low to mid 30's F, a huge change from yesterday morning when temperatures started in the teens. Winds have increased since yesterday and are blowing from the SW at 15-20 mph gusting 30-40 mph. Riding conditions are challenging with a mix of shallow wind drifts and hard icey snow. The hard icy snow is as much of a hazard as any avalanche issue.

Many trail heads have melted. The Ben Lomond Trail SNOTEL site is almost down to zero snow even though that trailhead has been mostly bare ground for a while. Otherwise, snow depths above 8000 feet range from 3-5 feet on northerly aspects.
recent activity

No avalanche activity was reported yesterday.

Heads up if you're considering skiing Timpanogos or other peaks near Provo this spring. The Provo area mountains have a very different and more dangerous snowpack. It's worth reviewing an avalanche cycle that occurred last week in that area. Below is a photo of avalanche debris from one of the slides on Timpanogos (J. Woodruff).
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

Strong winds Monday night drifted some snow and created some wind slabs. These are not very deep or very wide.

It's hard to say how air temperatures, cloud cover, and sunshine will interact to affect the snow surface today, but clouds should keep sunshine from warming the snow surface too much. Some warming could improve riding conditions. Some warming could also make it easier to trigger very shallow wet loose sluffs. These slides shouldn't be much of a hazard but would be worth watching for.
weather

Today's skies will be mostly cloudy and there is a chance for a couple snowflakes to fall. Temperatures should warm into the low 40's F. Winds will average about 15-20 mph with 30 mph gusts from the WSW. There is a decent storm brewing. Right now weather models are showing this storm occuring Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. Snow levels for that storm should start near 9000 feet. It is a fast moving storm that won't linger over the area very long, but could deliver about an inch of snow water equivalent. It's hard to say how much snow that will be.
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.