Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Saturday - January 14, 2017 - 7:24am
bottom line

A MODERATE danger exists in the southern Wasatch Range. The danger will be most pronounced on the steepest sun-drenched terrain with daytime warming. Use extreme caution traveling along the heavily corniced ridgelines and continue to use safe travel protocol: make a plan, one at a time in steep terrain, get out of the way at the bottom.




current conditions

Severe clear. Winds are light from the south. Mountain temps are in the mid 20s. Skiing and riding conditions are nothing less than phenomenal.

Rough storm totals since last Saturday night and totals since New Years

Upper LCC: 37"/4.48"................. 72"/6.90".................... Total snow depths are 80-90"

Upper BCC: 46"/4.78"............... 103"/8.46".................... Total snow depths are 80-95"

PC ridgeline: 41"/4.70"............... 80"/7.4" ..................... Total snow depths are 75-85"

Ogden 27"/2.5"-62"/7.95"............ 46"/3.71-83"/10.23.............. Total snow depths are 80-100"

Provo 35"/3.19" ....................... 67"/5.79" ................. Total snow depths are 80-120"
recent activity

No reports of avalanche activity in the Provo backcountry or from Sundance; however, explosive testing in uncompacted terrain in upper Big Cottonwood yielded a 4-6' deep and 100' wide hard slab on a very steep and rocky east facing slope at 10,300'.

Preliminary report of Wednesday's accident in the western Uintas can be found here.

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

Maritime. The storm and wind slab instabilities are rapidly healing but may still be triggered with heavy loads. I see three problematic scenarios:

  1. Someone falls over a breaking cornice, which in turn triggers a storm slab, with the individual getting raked through steep rocky terrain.
  2. Heavy loads or triggers, such as a snowmobile or multiple snowmobiles on a slope trigger a lingering storm slab 1-3' deep.
  3. Out of towners and those from higher latitudes often underestimate the intensity of the solar radiation in Utah. Today's direct sun and heating will foster unstable conditions on the steepest south facing terrain today. Snow doesn't like rapid change and the added insolation will stress the bonds between the layers of storm snow over the past few days, making them more sensitive to human triggering.

Hot Tip: Give the cornices a wide berth, put only one person on the steep slope at at time, and avoid the steepest sunlit terrain by late morning.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 12 hours
description

Out of towners and those from higher latitudes often underestimate the intensity of the solar radiation in Utah. Today's direct sun and heating will foster unstable conditions on the steepest south facing terrain today. While we're not seeing a rapid rise in temperature on very low density snow, I do feel that the direct sun will allow the storm snow to become damp, unstable and ripe for human triggering in the sunlit terrain and the low elevations on the north side of the compass. Rollerballs, pinwheels, and natural sluffs are key indicators for transitioning dry to wet snow. Those entering steep, confined south facing terrain in the afternoon are likely to create decent dry to wet avalanche debris piles in the runouts below.

Hot Tip: Continually change terrain to seek "cooler" aspects (eg: east to south to west) that haven't seen the prolonged heating and direct sun...or avoid the steep sunlit aspects altogether.
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

There remains some uncertainty about the snowpack structure below roughly 8000' involving a facet/crust layer from mid December. Diligent snow pit testing should provide good indication of how well this layer is healing. The Ogden area mountains had a very active avalanche cycle on this layering 3 days ago; the Provo mountains over a week ago. Collapsing and cracking are indicators of instability here.

Hot Tip: Use snowpits to determine the extent of this layering or remain on lower angle slopes at these elevations.
weather

We'll have sunny skies, light southerly winds, and temps rising to the low 20s at 10,000', the mid 30s at 8000'. This will be our first break in the storms since New Year. We're in a bit of a break until about mid week.

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.

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UDOT canyon closures: LINK TO UDOT, or on Twitter, follow @UDOTavy, @CanyonAlerts or @AltaCentral

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Powderbird Helicopter Skiing - Blog/itinerary for the day

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

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

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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.