Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Our partners, the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, with the Snowbird Renaissance Center, are hosting the annual Utah Backcountry Awareness Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction Friday, February 13th, from 5:30-9:00 pm, at Snowbird. It’s a bit of a splurge, but it’s always a very enjoyable evening. Included is dinner, a silent auction, inspirational speaker Chris Waddell chronicling how he overcame a life-changing college skiing accident to become the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history, plus live entertainment by “Stormy Mountain Boys”. For details and tickets, go to the Snowbird Renaissance Center's web site.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is mostly LOW today. Pockets of MODERATE danger exist on steep slopes with fresh drifts of windblown snow and on steep sunny slopes if the snow heats up and becomes damp. MODERATE means human triggered slides are possible.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

It’s setting up to be a warm and windy day in the mountains, with temperatures in the Provo area mountians in the mid 20s along the higher ridges, and the mid 30's at mid elevations. Skies are mostly clear, and the southwesterly winds have picked up into the 15 to 20 mph range at most locations, with the highest peaks gusting into the 40’s. The only remaining soft snow is on shady, northwest through northeasterly facing slopes, where there is good turning and riding on soft, recrystallized snow. The sunny slopes are well crusted and may be slow to soften today.


RECENT ACTIVITY

There was no reported avalanche activity from the backcountry yesterday, though people stayed off the steep, sunny slopes once they heated up and became damp to avoid triggering wet sluffs.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Strong winds will be attempting to move snow today, both along the higher ridgelines and down in the mid elevation terrain. While it may be a mostly futile effort on the thickly crusted southeast through west facing windward slopes, strong winds always manage to drift a little snow somewhere. So don’t be surprised to find a few fresh shallow drifts today, possibly quite sensitive on the shady slopes where they are sitting on weak, faceted snow. Careful slope cuts will be effective on these shallow wind deposits. On shady slopes also be alert for triggering loose sluffs that could gather some steam in continuously steep terrain. Hopefully, the combination of winds and warm temperatures will destroy much of the weak surface snow.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 8 hours.

The combination of wind and clouds should mostly mitigate the effects of the warm temperatures, but lower elevations and steeper southerly facing slopes could still warm to the point that human triggered, wet loose sluffs are possible. Cornices will continue to be sensitive and avoid spending time beneath the growing glide cracks.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

The high pressure will finally shift east today, placing northern Utah under a strong, southerly flow. Increasing clouds today, with temperatures once again reaching the mid 40s at 8,000’ and into the 30s along the ridgelines. The southwesterly winds will crank it up a notch by this afternoon, into the 25 to 35 mph range, with gusts into the 40s at 9 and 10,000’. The most exposed ridges and peaks will have averages to 40 mph, with gusts to 60. Continued strong southwest to westerly winds tonight, with snow starting after midnight. 3 to 6” of snow possible, with the rain/snow line starting around 6,000 feet and dropping. Unsettled weather through the next week should bring additional snow the northern Utah mountains.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Wasatch Powderbird Guides operated in the Bountiful Sessions and Cascade yesterday. Today they plan on being in Mineral, Cardiff, Days, Silver, Mill Creek, and Cascade. Operations planning page is here.

The last of the Beaver Mountain Discount tickets have been reduced to $35, with all proceeds going to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. Click HERE for details.

Tickets are now available for the annual Backcountry Awareness Dinner on February 13th, with registration through the Snowbird Renaissance Center.

Beacon training parks are up and running! There is one at Snowbasin, one on the Park City side at the top of Canyon’s gondola, one in Little Cottonwood 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.

For a text only version, the link is on the left side bar, near the top.

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).

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

Bruce 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.