Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Tuesday - April 1, 2014 - 7:12am
bottom line

We have pockets of MODERATE danger in the backcountry that may spike at times with periods of heightened wind and precipitation today. Human triggered wind drifts are possible and most prominent along the mid and upper elevation northerly through easterly aspects. Shallow sluffing of the new snow will be general in nature above about 8500' on all aspects.

With 7 people caught and carried in various close calls over the past few days alone, you must stay focused and deliberate with your safe travel protocols, communication, and decision making.




special announcement

Utah Avalanche Center History: On a personal note, it's been exceptionally rewarding having spent the last couple of months tracking down and connecting with long retired or otherwise "off to snowier pastures" forecasters from days gone by, to include families and not just a couple widows. Some names may be familiar - Tom Kimbrough still climbs and skis into his mid-70s; the famed alpinists Alex Lowe and Seth Shaw; or who could forget the firebrand snow scientist Ed LaChappelle protege Sue Ferguson? and may others...Much has changed in the past 35 years, but all the forecasters share a common bond in the rich history of snow and avalanches in the Wasatch Range. Their stories can be found off of our UAC Staff page here. - Hardesty

(SLC Ranger District Winter Recreation Specialist Rogers Thomas and one of the original forecasters Barry Matthias looking at a tele-type weather read-out at the NWS in the early 1980s)

current conditions

Yesterday was one of those days where folks come for a season and stay a lifetime.

After the searing warmth and solar radiation, however, Sunday night's 7-13" now seems like a thing of the past. That's how it is in the springtime when the window for good snow slides shut. The next wave, however, arrived last night and there's a clean 6" of 6% at most locations in the Central Wasatch. Ogden and Provo have about half of that. Winds, initially out of the southeast, blew 20-25mph, but have since veered to the southwest and are currently 15mph with a few gusts into the 30s and 40s. Temps have been rising slowly with the warm front, and are in the upper teens and low 20s. Riding conditions will be dust on crust on all but the high northerly terrain.

Looking across the range, we've made some weak strides to get back to near normal water and snow numbers - as you can see by the current/green line above. February's tropical moisture tap seemed to save the season and March produced 8" here and a foot there to limp us toward the finish line. Total snow on the ground sits at 100-120" in the upper reaches of the Cottonwoods, 70-90" along the favored areas of the Park City Ridgeline, 80-90" along the Ogden Skyline, and 70-85" in the alpine along the Provo Crest. But there's a clear distinction along elevation boundaries. As Evelyn wrote years ago describing a similar winter, "It's as if a child had put all the frosting on top of a cake and had forgotten the sides."

recent activity

Reports came in that not much snow fell in the Provo mountains with wind drifts and sluffing likely relegated to the highest alpine terrain. In the Central Wastach, backcountry avalanche activity centered on a few shallow skier triggered wind drifts up to a foot deep (see Reynolds Peak slide below) and shallow wet and dry sluffs on slopes approaching 40 degrees and steeper. One natural noted from Sunday night in South Monitor about 1-2' deep and 100' wide. These on east to northeast facing slopes at 9400' and 9900'. (photos Eddings, Hardesty, White)

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

The above would be just "pockety in nature" in the Provo mountains though may verify and become more widespead with additional snow and wind today.

Areas of both new and old shallow wind drifts exist along and just off the ridgelines, with some slides that may crowbar out old slowly sintering interfaces from the previous storms over the past week. Southeasterly winds are not common - so there may be unusual loading patterns along the ridgelines. Similarly, Sunday into Monday morning's moderate to strong winds - see below - also resulted in interesting loading patterns as well (Meisenheimer pic). Some caution should be observed in the more open wind affected terrain as these old lingering wind drifts are well hidden by last night's snow - (wind chart upper LCC 10,400')

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

Again, pockety in nature -

Sluffing, or loose snow point release avalanches are likely to be triggered with provocation on slopes approaching 40 degrees and steeper. Cornice drops, test slopes, and slope cuts tend to provide some level of information about the bonding of the new/old snow interface, which I expect to be "fair".

weather

A fairly complex and multi-faceted, if somewhat unimpressive storm arrived overnight and should persist through late Thursday. We'll see alternating warm and cold waves that should alternate wind direction and temps, but the take home is showery weather over the next few days with light to moderate wind. Short-wave ridging kicks in for Friday with perhaps another trof on tap for Saturday. Today's temps will be in the high teens, dropping to the low teens tonight. Winds will be moderate from the southwest and west.

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)

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

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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.

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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.