Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

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BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

A LOW danger exists in most areas. A pockety MODERATE danger is warranted for the upper elevations where winds may form fresh small soft slabs. Continue to give the cornices respect. Watch for the snow to become damp at the lower elevations and avoid terrain traps in those locations.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Many people continued to find good settled powder on the more shady aspects on Saturday. Temperatures were mild but not warm enough to initiate much wet activity even at the lower elevations. Temperatures stayed fairly mild overnight ranging from the upper 20s to low 30s in the 7500 to 9000 foot range. The southwesterly winds bumped up about 10 to 15 mph after yesterdays very slow speeds. Clouds are moving over our area this morning.


RECENT ACTIVITY

The snowpack is fairly stable right now and as a result, not that many of the numerous people in the backcountry triggered anything noteworthy. Cornices are proving to be somewhat sensitive still as one out of bounds party found out after a large cornice broke off that they were standing on. (PHOTO) One person fell with it into Dutches Draw and ended up being ok. The cornice did not trigger anything when it hit the slope. Some sluffs on a northerly aspect that ran far enough to pose a minor threat were reported from Saturday as well.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
No probability identified.
No size identified.
No trend identified.

While you have to really try to get yourself into trouble out there, a LOW danger doesn’t mean no danger. You still have to think about avalanches if you’re in the high country. (Stability Assessment) First off, don’t screw around with large cornices. Next up, winds can transport snow into sensitive drifts. While there’s not much soft snow to transport from the southerly aspects, continue to watch for fresh drifting anyway. Last, mild temperatures may make some of the loose powdery snow become damp and unstable producing wet sluffs especially at the lower elevations.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll have clouds, mild temperatures and some gusty winds today. Temperatures will reach to around 40 at 8500 feet and low 30s along the ridges. Southwest winds will increase a bit more this morning averaging 10 to 20 mph and gusting into the 30s along the mid elevation ridges. Gusts into the 40s and 50s are possible along the more exposed terrain. A series of weather disturbances will start to affect our area early this week bringing some snow.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our web page is now mobile-friendly for users of iPhone and iPod Touch.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew yesterday in American Fork and Cascade. Today they plan to be in Cardiff, Days, Silver, Mineral, Grizzly, White Pine, Mill Creek and American Fork and Cascade. Operations planning page is here.

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 toward the Tombstone lift, 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.

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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).

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Your snow and avalanche observations can save someone’s life. 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.

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.