BOTTOM LINE

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

Danger Rose Tutorial

DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST. The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE (Level 3) on mid and upper elevation northwest through east facing slopes steeper than about 30 degrees. Human triggered avalanches are likely on many slopes, and numerous slides are being triggered remotely from a distance, so avoid travel below and adjacent to steep slopes. Cautious route finding and conservative decision-making are essential. Those without excellent avalanche skills and training should avoid this terrain and stay on gentler slopes well away from runout areas or stay on south through south west facing slopes at low and mid elevations.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

It was very warm yesterday where I was comfortable digging snowpits in a long underwear top and baseball cap—pretty rare for the week before Christmas. The warm temperatures and sun created quite a few rollerballs and manky snow on the sun exposed slopes. Temperatures remain warm this morning, around 25 degrees. Winds remain light

RECENT ACTIVITY

Conditions remain very tricky and very dangerous from large, deep slabs sliding on the extremely weak and persistent layers of faceted snow near the ground. We heard about 5 different avalanche events from the backcountry yesterday. You can find details, photos and videos on most of these slides in Current Conditions, with some of the information updated later in the morning.

Near Alta: one person snowboarder triggered slide near Davenport Hill and another person investigating the crown face triggered the hangfire as he was preparing a rope belay. He was knocked down the bed surface for 200 feet before grabbing a tree. One of our forecasters was walking along a flat ridge near Desolation Lake (west of Canyons Resort) and when the snow collapsed, it remotely triggered an avalanche on a steep slope over 300 feet away. Finally, someone remotely triggered a cornice as they approached the Park City ridgeline near Squaretop, which triggered a slab below. All these avalanches are 2-4 feet deep, most running on the extremely weak depth hoar near the ground and they are very dangerous.

THREAT #1

WHERE

PROBABILITY

SIZE

TREND

Over the next 24 hours.

Conditions remain very tricky and very dangerous. Although many slopes slid during the weekend storm, many more did not and remain teetering on the brink waiting for someone to give it a thump before it breaks out 2-4 feet deep, creating a very dangerous avalanche. It’s very difficult to tell the difference between stable slopes and unstable slopes, even if you are an experienced avalanche professional. In addition, some slopes that have already slid have filled back in with wind drifted snow and people have triggered these slopes. So the only choice is to just avoid slopes that had extremely weak, faceted snow before the last storm. These are primarily mid and upper elevation northerly through easterly facing slopes, The worst conditions seem to be in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Mill Creek Canyon the Park City ridgeline. Conditions seem better in the Ogden area mountains.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Continued benign weather with partly cloudy skies, ridgetop temperatures just below freezing, 8,000’ temperatures near 35. Ridgetop winds should remain light. The next chance for significant snow is right around Christmas. For more details, visit the Snow Page.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.

For the Wasatch Powderbird Guides schedule go to their blog

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: call 888-999-4019, option 8,

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

You can get a free iPhone application from Canyon Sports to display the Bottom Line.

To get a daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

For a text only version click the upper left link under Search

For canyon closures call UDOT at (801) 975-4838

Send us your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

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.

Brett Kobernik will update this forecast on Friday morning. Thanks for checking in.

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.