Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Evelyn Lees

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 will rapidly rise to MODERATE with Pockets of CONSIDERABLE, for wet, loose avalanches. Natural avalanches are possible, and human triggered slides likely, on steep, sunny slopes as the day heats up. Avoid travel on and below steep east through south through west facing sunlit slopes once the snow becomes damp and sloppy and all steep, lower elevation slopes. Spring conditions dictate early starts and early finishes. Pockets of MODERATE danger remain for lingering weaknesses in the northerly mid-elevation slopes and for a few old wind drifts.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under clear skies, temperatures are very warm in the Provo mountains this morning - in the mid 30's to mid 40's. The westerly winds are barely strong enough to slightly cool the snow surface, in the 5 to 10 mph range. It is a real mix of snow conditions, with the best bets for fun riding the band of corn snow on mid elevation southerly through westerly facing slopes, and the limited windblown thick powder on mid to upper elevation northerly facing slopes.

RECENT ACTIVITY

I just received a report of a scary, big, wet slab natural avalanche that released on an east facing slope in the Aspen Grove area of the Provo mountains yesterday afternoon. Other than that, the only activity reported yesterday was a few wet, loose naturals, many initiating at rock bands, and the snow sliding off several more roofs in mountains towns.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Today will be a balancing act – but hopefully the increasing high clouds of varying thickness and light, but consistent winds will keep the wet avalanche issues from getting entirely out of hand. Still, there is a full smorgasbord of heat related avalanche issues to watch out for today, and how they play out will depend on your exact location.

·Wet loose sluffs will rapidly become easy to trigger on steep sunny slopes. Naturals may occur.

·Roof-a-lanches – avoid travel below steep, snow covered roofs that will continue to shed their snow.

·Cornices are very sensitive and breaking back further than expected.

·Greenhousing, caused by the high thin clouds, could heat the snow on low and mid elevation shady slopes, allowing for wet, loose sluffing.

·Glide avalanches – are the least manageable of all the heat related problems, are large and dangerous (recent Broads Fork slide). Reduce the problem by careful route finding to minimizing your time beneath suspect slopes, which are most common in Broads, Mill B South and Stairs Gulch, sub-drainages of mid-Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Remember - if you’re in a place with lots of direct sun and dead calm winds, the snow will heat quickly and avalanche danger rapidly increase.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

The mid pack weak layers are slowly strengthening, but in isolated places it is still be possible to trigger a slide 1 to 2’ deep on these weak layers.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

The ridge of high pressure will hold for one more day, continuing the warm temperatures, with 8,000’ highs in the low 50’s and 10,000’ highs in the mid 30’s. Thin clouds will increase this afternoon, and the northerly winds will be light, in the 5 to 15 mph range. The Thursday/Friday storm will come in two pieces – a cold front Thursday afternoon could bring a few inches of snow, with lightening possible. The second, colder portion of the storm Thursday night into Friday could produce an additional 4 to 8” of snow. Then it’s back to toasty warm temperatures through the weekend, with another chance for snow around Tuesday.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLC: Please contact Alta Central (801-742-2033) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Ogden: Please contact Snowbasin ski patrol (801620-1000/1017) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Provo: Please contact Sundance ski patrol (801 -223-4150) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com and the local resorts donated lift tickets, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Utah Avalanche Center. To get the last few tickets left for Park City, Beaver Mountain, and Sundance – click here at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

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

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Free UAC iPhone app from Canyon Sports.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

We appreciate all your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or fill out the observation form on our home page.

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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 will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.

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.