Provo Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Drew Hardesty

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

This will be our last week of morning forecasts. After Easter Sunday, we will do intermittent afternoon updates until near the end of April or conditions become very benign, whichever comes first.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

A mostly LOW danger will rise toward MODERATE with daytime warming and sun on the steep east to south to westerly facing aspects. Human triggered longer running wet sluffs will be possible as the wet snow quickly gains speed on the slick underlying crusts. Slide-for-life conditions exist in the steepest exposed alpine terrain.

Continued poor structure dictates a continued mention of the Low Probability-High Consequence human triggered deep slab releases in thin rocky terrain.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Skies are clear. Temps are in the low 20s. Winds, mercifully, are light and variable. They were not so yesterday - they were punishing and cold from the northeast. Almost felt like winter. Mid-elevation, low angle protected terrain with a smooth underbelly offer the best riding conditions; otherwise plan on "bottom-feeding" beneath the now settled couple inches from April Fools and be quick to eyeball the transitions from scoured to the core crust to 14" of mostly welded-in thick drifts. Clouds played cat and mouse with the sun..some sunny aspects will be crusted this morning...others will not.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Shallow isolated wind slab and cracking noted along the mid and upper elevations...and not necessarily dependent on aspect. Cross-loading and drifting noted in many areas - though easy to spot. White and chalky, scalloped drifts stand in contrast to the darker, dusty old melt-freeze surfaces. Intentionally triggered dry and damp sluffs ran a couple hundred feet, but few of these would pose much problem unless in unforgiving terrain.

Older, but significant news (perhaps the canary in the coal mine) of a snowmobile triggered deep slab along the Manti Skyline from Saturday - 3.5' deep 75' wide on a steep east facing slope at 10,300'. (ob,photo by Jensen)


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Most - but not all - of yesterday's wind drifts will have likely bonded to the old and warm corrugated snow surfaces. These will be easy to spot and quite manageable with careful slope cuts.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 10 hours.

Human triggered shallow, but potentially longer running sluffs will be possible with sun and daytime warming today for those overstaying their welcome on long sustained south and off aspects (east and west). Debris piles will be a function of track-length, abruptness of transition in the runout zone, and presence of encatchment features (such as gullies) below. Remember that wet debris runs more slowly, but can pack a punch (imagine the cement mixer dumping the wet debris down the chute).

I attempt to explain why we will be monitoring the wet slab potential as we continue to transition to a spring snowpack in yesterday's ob. More on the way.

(note - gray areas denote lack of snow)


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We'll have clear skies, light wind, and temps reaching toward 43 degrees at 8000', freezing at 10,000'. The next weak disturbance moves through later Thursday. Nothing significant - intense warming, storms - is on the horizon.


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 and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

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

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

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

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone http://utahavalanchecenter.org/twitter)

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

Wasatch Powderbird Guides does daily updates about where they'll be operating on this blog http://powderbird.blogspot.com/.

Remember your information can save lives.If you see anything we should know about, please 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.

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.