Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Saturday - March 8, 2014 - 7:07am
bottom line

The AVALANCHE DANGER is mostly LOW this morning, but will rapidly rise to MODERATE for wet sluffs on steep slopes around the compass, on almost all elevations. Get off of and out from under steep slopes when the snow becomes wet and soggy.

At the upper elevations, LOW danger doesn't mean NO danger - a person could trigger a shallow sluff or wind drift or break a cornice and go for a ride. There is also the very isolated chance of triggering a slab avalanche.




special announcement

Gold’s Hill Fatality…

It is with great sorrow that we have to report an avalanche accident which occurred late yesterday in the Uintas, near Gold Hill in Whitney Basin. We have very few details, but one snowmobiler was caught and killed. Craig will visit the site this morning and have more details later today.

First annual VertFest and 11th annual PowderKeg today - head on up to the Brighton Resort! Both today and tomorrow there will be races, gear demos, a series of backcountry skills clinics, free beacon clinics, a party featuring the band Salem from Boulder, CO and a great gear raffle. The VertFest is a benefit for the Utah Avalanche Center. Click Here for more info.

Show Us You Know the Snow: US & Canadian avy groups have a challenge to sidecountry riders: Use your camera to tell a short video story about how your crew gets ready to safely ride beyond the resort boundary. Videos will be posted & promoted by GoPro & other partners. The contest will run till Mar 21. The winner will be determined by a combination of most views & an expert panel. Prizes include: 2 days at Monashee Powder Snowcats, 2 4-day Gold Passes to any US resort, a Backcountry Access Float 22 airbag, gear from Backcountry.com, editing help and support from Sherpas Cinema, & more. Winners will be announced in late March. . Details at knowthesnow.com Please share this with your friends

current conditions

Under mostly clear skies, temperatures cooled nicely overnight, into the teens along the high ridge lines, and into the mid to low 20’s at 9,000’. The northerly winds are light – the highest ridge line stations are averaging less than 15 mph, with a few rare gusts to 25 mph. A combination of cold overnight temperatures and yesterday’s cloud cover preserved the cold, dry snow on most aspects, though it varies from drainage to drainage.

recent activity

There was a seriously close call on Box Elder peak yesterday – the second skier triggered a slide ten turns down the chute, and hitting a tree was a good thing - it kept him from going for the full ride, possibly saving his life. It was on a northerly facing slope at 10,000’, and broke 3 feet deep, failing on facets. Photos below, and more details and photos posted HERE. Elsewhere, a few reports of loose sluffs and a shallow wind slabs (with one person going for a very short ride), with numerous steep lines hit with no incidents.

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 12 hours
description

Heating will be the main event today. Clear skies, light winds and soaring temperatures will rapidly warm and loosen the surface snow. Wet snow sluffs will become very easy to trigger, and natural sluffs are expected, on all steep, sunny slopes and low to mid elevation shady slopes. Hard bed surfaces on many slopes will allow the slides to scoop up snow as they travel downhill, resulting in long running slides and deeper debris piles, especially in gullies.

Trip planning: Have an exit plan that avoids steep, sunny slopes and low elevation terrain traps.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Even with a generally LOW danger this morning, avalanche problems still exist in steep terrain:

  • Dry snow sluffs can be triggered on steep slopes today; just large enough catch and carry a person. Consider the potential to be pushed off a cliff or take a long ride.
  • Shallow wind drifts exist in upper elevation terrain, mostly unreactive, but one person was caught and carried a short ways yesterday.
  • Graupel pooling beneath cliffs and at slope transitions could act as a weak layer if loaded, like by a sluff.
  • Cornices – will become increasingly sensitive with heating today and tomorrow, breaking back further than expected.

Low risk travel techniques are vital if you’re hitting the steep terrain –

  • High mark, snowshoe, ski and board steep slopes one at a time
  • Stop in safe places
  • Try to keep your partners in sight
  • Have good communication and a solid plan for each steep slope, both with your partners and with other parties around you.
Avalanche Problem 3
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Moderate danger doesn't mean no danger, just a very isolated chance. The facet problem just isn’t going to end, no matter how hard we wish it was over. As yesterday shows, in shallow snow pack areas, where the snow pack above the facets is less than about 4 feet deep, a person could still trigger a deep slide. Think traditionally wind scoured slopes that are loaded, shallow rocky areas, hanging snow fields and slopes that have slid one or more times this winter.

weather

Any lingering clouds will erode rapidly today as a strong high pressure strengthens over the area to bring warming temperatures and clear skies through the weekend. 10,000’ temperatures will soar to 32 degrees today and into the mid-30s by Sunday morning. The northerly winds will remain light today, with speeds along the high ridge lines averaging less than 15 mph, and only occasional gusts to 30 mph. The flow will shift to the southwest overnight ahead of the next storm system, which will cross the area late Monday through Tuesday. Clear skies again on Sunday.

general announcements

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, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

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)

Snowbasin Resort Dispatch (801-620-1017), Powder Mountain Dispatch (801-745-3772 x 123).

Sundance Dispatch (801-223-4150)

EMAIL ADVISORY We have switched to a new SLC email advisory system. If you would like to get the daily advisory by email, or if you have been getting the advisory by email since the beginning of the season and wish to continue, you will need to subscribe here.​  

DAWN PATROL Hotline updated daily by 5-530am - 888-999-4019 option 8.

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS

UDOT canyon closures:  LINK TO UDOT

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.uned.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides Blog/Itinerary for the Day.  

Lost or Found something in the backcountry? - http://nolofo.com/

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com - Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts.  All proceeds go towards paying for Utah Avalanche Center avalanche and mountain weather advisories.

To those skinning uphill at resorts:  it is your responsibility to know the resort policy on uphill travel.  Some allow uphill travel and have guidelines, some don't. Contact the Ski Patrol at each resort for details. IMPORTANT: Before skinning at a resort under new snow conditions, check in with Ski Patrol.  Resorts can restrict or cut off access if incompatible with control and grooming operations.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI:  Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC.  Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell.  You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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 exist.