Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Tuesday - March 29, 2016 - 7:27am
bottom line

I expect it to be CONSIDERABLE throughout the day. Human triggered avalanches are probable on many slopes at the mid and upper elevations and may be most problematic and touchy on the steep west to north to east facing slopes. Cornices and avalanches may run on approach. Beware of unusual loading patterns from the southeast winds.

I recommend a simple approach for today while things settle out - stick to sheltered slopes of 30° and less with nothing steeper above. A beginner's mind is required.
special announcement

Check out the Adventure and Gear Expo on April 8 & 9 at the Southtowne Expo Center. Use the code GOUAC to get a $2 discount on entrance tickets and the Adventure and Gear Expo will donate $2 to the UAC. http://www.adventuregearfest.com/

Spring powder special! We have reduced the price of donated Snowbasin lift tickets to $50 and Sundance tickets to $35, about half of window price. Take advantage of fresh powder on a fat snowpack and benefit the Utah Avalanche Center at the same time. We also haveone remaining Snowbird ticket for $84. Every penny spent on these donated tickets benefits the Utah Avalanche Center.

A few links back to some recent blog posts by popular request -

current conditions

And it's still snowing. Quite the storm. Might be a few people calling in sick today. Hope you feel better soon.

7" overnight with .6 snow water equivalent, with a storm total so far of 8-10" in favored locations. Temperatures are in the low to mid-20s. Winds aloft have generally been from the southeast with some of the Provo mountains sheltered; however, the winds seem to have veered to the southwest and are now blowing 25-30 with gusts to 40.

recent activity

Only heard a second hand report of some avalanching up high in the Primrose Cirque above Aspen Grove in the north fork of Provo Canyon.

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

New drifts will be sensitive, potentially remotely triggered and may even step down into some facet/crust layering a few inches down lying dormant before the storm. Many drifts will be loaded in unusual terrain, owing to the east to south to southwest winds.

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

Storm slabs will also remain sensitive to provocation and more pronounced in the mid and upper elevations - terrain that received (and continues to receive the most loading). Snowfall rates continued to be in the 1-2"/hour range overnight and will need more time to stabilize. Assume snow in terrain over 30° and moving toward 35-40° will move with human interaction. Don't overestimate your ability to ski cut steep terrain as older weak surface snow and thinly buried facet/crust combos may contribute to a more unpredictable avalanche character.

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

Fast moving sluffs can again be expected today on the steeper slopes.

weather

We'll see continued snowfall throughout the morning with off and on showers throughout the day. Winds should be southeasterly at 15-20mph along the ridgelines. Temps with be in the upper teens up high, the mid to upper 20s down low. A weak "dirty" ridge builds in for the later part of the week with gradual warming into the weekend.

general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

To get help in an emergency (to request a rescue) in the Wasatch, call 911.  Be prepared to give your GPS coordinates or the run name. Dispatchers have a copy of the Wasatch Backcountry Ski map.

Backcountry Emergencies. It outlines your step-by-step method in the event of a winter backcountry incident.

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry, but no one is hurt and you do not need assistance, please notify the nearest ski area dispatch to avoid a needless response by rescue teams. Thanks.

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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, or on Twitter, follow @UDOTavy, @CanyonAlerts or @AltaCentral

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

Powderbird Helicopter Skiing - Blog/itinerary for the day  

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

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

To those skinning uphill at resorts:  it is critical to know the resort policy on uphill travel.  You can see the uphill travel policy for each resort here. 

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.