Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Bruce Tremper

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

A Special Avalanche Advisory has been issued for the western Uinta Mountains. An unusual snowpack has created tricky and unpredictable avalanche conditions, resulting in several close calls in recent days. Today’s expected warm temperatures will lead to an elevated avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are likely, especially on mid and upper elevation northerly facing slopes. Once triggered, today’s avalanches will break wide and deep, creating a dangerous and possibly unsurvivable slide.

Be sure to monitor the Uinta Advisory before heading that way.

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

There is a Considerable (Level 3) avalanche danger today for wet sluffs and slabs on any slope getting wet from strong sun or warm temperatures. There is a Moderate (Level 2) danger for lingering wind slabs and a Moderate (Level 2) danger for lingering deep slabs. Today you should continue to choose more conservative terrain.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Widespread greenhousing with mid level clouds yesterday left most slopes manky or wet. There is still some soft, settled powder on straight north facing, upper elevation slopes but the snow remains slabby with difficult trail breaking.

RECENT ACTIVITY

It was an active day yesterday. There have been several close calls in large avalanches in the Uinta Mountains including yesterday and two days ago.

In the Wasatch Range, skiers triggered wind slabs on Lake Peak in White Pine of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Scottie's Bowl (near Snowbird) and wind slab triggered by a cornice drop in on Timpanogos. In addition, there was strong greenhousing yesterday by the low clouds and sun causing widespread wet sluffs and slabs at mid and lower elevation slopes, including north facing slopes. There was one incident from a wet avalanche in Mill B South and many other parties backed off slopes because of widespread wet sluffing and slabs.

We also received a number of late reports of wind slabs triggered two days ago. Those reports arrived too late to get onto our advisory yesterday. Please, please, let us know what is going on because we can't be everywhere at once and we're not clairvoiant. Your information can help to save someone's life. Please report or leave a message 800-662-4140.

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

Temperatues will be 10 degrees warmer today than yesterday with strong sun so expect continued widespread wet sluffs and slabs within the new snow, especially on mid and low elevation slopes that face the south half of the compass. As usual, stay off of and out from underneath steep slopes when they get soggy.

We may get lucky as the winds pick up this afternoon, which will help keep the upper elevation slopes cooler than you would expect with clear skies and strong, spring sun.

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

The wind slabs have been much more persistent than usual, which means that there is some sort of monkey business in the form of a persistent weak layer between the new and old snow. Yesterday, I found pockets of small surface hoar beneath the wind slab where a skier was caught in Sound of Music a backcountry area near the Canyons Resort a couple days ago. (Also see the first-hand report) So I suspect that this happened in other areas where either surface hoar or faceted snow formed before the last storm creating a persistent weak layer between the old and new snow.

Today you should continue to avoid steep slopes in wind exposed terrain. In addition, winds will blow today from the southwest and will likely create a new batch or wind slabs in the upper elevation, wind exposed terrain.

THREAT #3
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Lastly, there's our old nemisis, the deep slabs, that keep raising their ugly heads as evidenced by the secondary collapse of the avalanche on Lake Peak in White Pine as well as widespread problems in the Uinta Mountains. We still can't rule out these low probability - high consequence avalanches. They seem worse in thin snowpack areas with recent wind loading, such as the high elevation ridges.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Today will be about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday with ridge top temperatures around 40 degrees with warmer temperatures down at 8,000'. Skies should be mostly sunny. The only saving grace for wet activity will be an increase in winds from the southwest this afternoon. Winds will increase from 10 mph this morning to 25 mph this afternoon.

Tonight we will get a weak shot of snow and cooler temperatues with most of the snow passing through the Logan area. The Salt Lake area mountains should get 2-4 inches in a quick-hitting disturbance overnight. Friday, it should clear out by mid day.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams 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.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

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.

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.

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

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

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.

We 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.