Advisory: Provo Area Mountains | Issued by Brett Kobernik for February 11, 2013 - 6:31am |
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Above 9,500 ft.
8,000-9,500 ft.
Below 8,000 ft.
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bottom line There is an overall MODERATE avalanche danger today. This means human triggered avalanches are possible. Dry loose snow sluffs may still pose a minor threat. Southerly facing slopes may become damp and unstable from direct sun. Shallow snowpack areas should be approached with caution as they may collapse into preexisting weak snow.
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current conditions Temperatures got cold overnight and are in the zero to 5 degree range. Ridgetop winds are light from the east. A few more inches of very low density snow fell during the day on Sunday. You'll find 6 to 12 inches of snow from the last storm. |
recent activity The new snow basically produced no significant rise in the avalanche danger yet there was a serious accident that occurred in Broads Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon where what appears was a glide avalanche that released naturally and hit an unsuspecting ski touring party that was ascending in the drainage bottom. One person sustained a serious leg injury and had to be evacuated by ground since sky conditions didn't allow for a helicopter. This seems odd and I certainly would not have expected yesterday to be a likely day for a glide avalanche. We'll have some more details after we go check out the slide. LINK TO INITIAL REPORT |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 9,500 ft.
8,000-9,500 ft.
Below 8,000 ft.
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description
I don't feel that there is one particular significant avalanche problem that really stands out but there are a number of things I'd keep in mind during the day today:
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weather The recent storm will continue to slide to our east with gradually clearing skies and lingering light northeast winds with temperatures getting into the teens. Looks like we'll have partly cloudy skies on Tuesday and minor disturbances riding over the ridge that will move through our area periodically into Thursday. It seems like we may see a little snow accumulation on Thursday but nothing too much. |
general annoucements Go to http://www.backcountry.com/utah-avalanche-center to get tickets from our partners at Park City, Beaver Mountain, Canyons, Sundance, and Wolf Mountain. All proceeds benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. 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), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322) Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017) Powder Mountain Ski Patrol Dispatch (801-745-3773 ex 123) 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 - DETAILS 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 snow and avalanche conditions. 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. For a print version of this advisory click HERE. This advisory is produced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. Specific terrain and route finding decisions should always be based on skills learned in a field-based avalanche class. |