Please join us at the 23rd annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraiser Party Thursday Sept 15. Tickets are on sale now here, at the Black Diamond store & at REI. Special bonus raffle for online ticket purchasers! |
Please join us at the 23rd annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraiser Party Thursday Sept 15. Tickets are on sale now here, at the Black Diamond store & at REI. Special bonus raffle for online ticket purchasers! |
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains | Issued by Evelyn Lees for Wednesday - February 3, 2016 - 6:51am |
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special announcement Yard Sale! Stop by our facebook page and check out some goods we have for sale, donated by our many supporters, including skis, clothes, bindings, boots, 2 nights at the Talking Mountain Yurts in the LaSal mountains. This helps to support avalanche forecasting and education. Tomorrow, Thursday 6:00pm - The Utah Adventure Journal Speaker Series presents professional skier Brody Leven, who will share the story of his incredible adventure to climb and ski the northernmost active volcano in a 36-hour push from his sailboat base camp. Next Wednesday February 10th - We have teamed up with Liberty Mountain to bring avalanche awareness to the ice climbing community. A special evening dedicated to discussing avalanche hazard as it relates to many popular climbing routes around Utah. Come learn which routes need to be avoided when avalanche danger is elevated and which routes provide a safer alternative when conditions are sketchy. For more info click here. There are still a few spaces in the Women’s Backcountry 101 avalanche classes at Brighton this weekend. For more info on those classes and other education offerings through out the state, check out our Education Page. |
current conditions Temperatures remain cold this morning, with most stations in the single digits. Skies range from cloudy with light snow to clear, with upper Little Cottonwood receiving up to 2" of snow overnight. The northwesterly winds are just starting to increase – now averaging 15 mph with gusts to 20, the highest terrain has gusts in the 30s. Wind sheltered slopes have amazing powder on all aspects; much preferred to the breakable wind slabs in exposed terrain. |
recent activity We are saddened by the avalanche death of a backcountry skier who was killed Sunday, along the Park City ridge line. For the second time this winter, the community has lost a wonderful person to an avalanche, and our condolences go out to the family and friends of Steve Jones. A preliminary report is HERE, we will visit the site today. Yesterday, a solo skier triggered a 3' deep, 80' wide slide in No Name, on the Park City ridge line, that broke out 4 turns above him on his 4th run; he was able to ski out to the side. The slide ran 700' vertical, failing on basal facets, and has slid multiple times this year. There was also a significant natural off Pioneer Peak into Snake Creek observed, timing uncertain, on an E to NE facing slope. And finally, resort avalanche reduction work yesterday triggered the stiff wind slabs with explosives on a variety of aspects, including southeasterly facing.
Left: approximate location of Sunday’s backcountry avalanche fatality. Right: No Name slide triggered yesterday, Mark White photo
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type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
The Sunday and Tuesday avalanches broke to the ground on our November facets. These slides stack up the debris deeply, and getting caught in one will have serious consequences, perhaps fatal. They are most likely to be triggered on an upper elevation north through easterly facing slope, that have already slid one or more times this winter and have a shallow snow pack. However, isolated deep slides have broken on other aspects, making this a tough one to forecast in the backcountry. Tracks on the slope are not an indication of stability, as these slides will often break out on the 2nd or even 4th person. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
|
description
Just as the old hard wind slabs were starting to settle out, a new round of wind drifts will form today as the northwesterly winds increase. The old hard drifts will be stubborn, and could let you get out on the slab before failing. Today’s new drifts will be more reactive and cracky, and most widespread along the high ridgelines. |
weather It’s going to be another cold day with out much warming – 10,000’ temperatures will stay in the single digits and 8000’ temperatures warm to near 15. The northwesterly winds will increase today, especially along the higher ridge lines, where averages to 35 mph, with gusts to 50 mph are possible. Mid elevation winds speeds will average 15 mph by this afternoon. Clouds and winds will continue to increase tonight through Thursday, as a small disturbance brings a few inches of snow on Thursday. |
general announcements
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Advisory Hotline: (888) 999-4019 | Contact Information