Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Drew Hardesty

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I'm holding an Open House at the Wild Rose tomorrow at 7pm for public comment on a new terrain rating scale and decision making tool for the Wasatch range.  I'm looking for feedback from all experience levels, especially beginners and intermediates.  For more info, go to our calendar off the home page. 

Bruce has a Science of Avalanches talk a the SLC REI on Thursday.  Check the calendar page.


BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

We have a localized MODERATE for fresh and lingering wind drifts from the sustained northwesterly winds.  They’ve been strong for nearly a week now.  We have an isolated MODERATE danger for triggering a deep slab avalanche in north through east facing terrain at the mid and upper elevations. 


CURRENT CONDITIONS

The stratus (horizontally vice vertically splayed) deck continues to drape itself over the Wasatch, leaving most in the Cottonwoods to wander around in the ‘fog’ in the upper reaches.    It has been a patchwork of cloud cover:  one guy claimed to see a rainbow a couple days ago.  The Provo mountains, often shielded from the northwest flow proved mostly to partly cloudy yesterday and should again be nice.  At least the winds have ramped back up: they’ve pushed back into the 30mph range near 10k’, though they remain relegated to the highest elevations.  Temps are right side up: near freezing at 7000’ and about 20 degrees at 10,000’. 


RECENT ACTIVITY

No avalanche activity was reported in the ranges along the Wasatch front.   I wandered up into the Primrose Cirque on Timpanogos to look at the 30+ of debris from 270 degrees of starting zones from the Christmas cycle.  All that was left was bullet proof to trap-door hard slab over debris piles and cleaned out avalanche paths.  Conrad’s Kurtz couldn’t have said it better after looking deeply into Nietzsche’s abyss – ‘the horror, the horror’. At least someone’s glass is half full.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Most, but not all, of the drifts are pretty well welded into place.  Still, good habits save lives, and it’s still worth a bit of caution or a well-executed cut across the top of the slope before committing to anything.  With the break in some of the cloud cover, folks may actually be able to see where they’re going in the upper elevation terrain today. 


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Not gone and not forgotten.  The graphic tells the whole story.  Very difficult to trigger, very difficult to survive.  Avoid thinner snowpack areas and steep, rocky terrain. 


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

May finally get some visibility today as the stratus cloud deck breaks up and a classic January inversion builds through the weekend.  Temps at 8000’ and 10,000’ will be 32 and 28 degrees, respectively.  The northwesterly winds are expected to stay moderate to strong, though relegated to the ridgelines. 


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Yesterday, Wasatch Powderbird Guides did not get out and will likely not fly today because of wind and poor visibility.  For details, click here to go directly to their operations planning page.

 

The Utah Avalanche Center is hosting a Level 2 avalanche class in February which is now open for registration by going to the Black Diamond retail store.  More information is found off our education and calendar on the home page.

 

 

Beacon training parks are up and running!  On the Park City side, there is one at the top of Canyon’s gondola, in Little Cottonwood one is near the Snowbird parking structure on the bypass road, and in Big Cottonwood a training  park is at the west end of Solitude's lower parking lot.

 

 

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.

 

 

 

UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838. Our statewide toll free line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

 

 

The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.  To find out more about how you can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and education that you expect please visit our Friends page.

 

 

Your snow and avalanche observations help everyone in the backcountry community.  Please let us know what you're seeing by leaving a message at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (Fax 801-524-6301).

 

 

I will update this advisory by 7:30 tomorrow morning.


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.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.