Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Friday - December 8, 2017 - 6:52am
bottom line

The danger is generally LOW in the Provo area mountains. Watch for and stay off of any fresh wind drifts, which will be at the higher elevations.
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Looking for a great stocking stuffer for Christmas? Discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Deer Valley, Snowbasin,and Beaver Mountain are now available, donated by the resorts to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. Details and order information here. These make a great holiday gift and all proceeds go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!

Support the UAC when you shop Whole Foods Market at Trolley Square, Sugarhouse, and Cottonwood Heights. Between now and Jan 11th, Whole Foods will donate a dime per bag to Utah Avalanche Center when you shop there and donate your bag credit during check out.

Please abide by the uphill travel policies of the ski resorts. Info here.
current conditions

Skies are clear this morning, and wind speeds at the Provo area mountain weather stations are light, less than 10 mph. However, to the north, speeds across the highest peaks are averaging 30 mph, gusting to 50 mph, but on a downward trend. I suspect this is more representative of wind speeds across the highest peaks in the Provo area mountains. Temperatures at the mid elevations are about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, in the twenties, with the colder canyon bottoms still clinging to teens.

Snow in the Provo area mountains is mostly confined to the upper elevations. Any snow on the southerly aspects is in the process of melting or be coming crusted. On the upper elevation, shady slopes, the snow is faceting, forming a weak layer for the future. It becomes an avalanche problem once a slab forms on top.

With limited terrain available for riding (low tide as some call it), take the time to practice with your rescue gear if you get out. Watch this video. Matt and Tom were glad they had practiced and luckily had a happy ending.
recent activity

Gazex testing released a small slide on an upper elevation, northwesterly facing slope in Little Cottonwood yesterday, which gouged into the weak snow as it ran downhill.
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

In the Provo area mountains, there are few slopes with enough snow to ride, and they would be a long hike to reach. And then, hitting rocks would be the greatest hazard. With increased winds yesterday from the N and NE, watch for and avoid any fresh wind drifts, which will be at the higher elevations. Triggering one of these probably wouldn't bury someone, but would run them into rocks and cause injury.
weather

Today’s weather will be similar to yesterday’s…and tomorrow’s…and the day after…and… The high pressure over Utah isn’t budging, so sunny skies and steadily warming temperatures through the weekend. Highs today in the upper 30s, with the overnight low dipping into the teens and low 20s. The northerly winds should decrease through out the day, becoming light by evening. A warming trend through the weekend will send the high temperatures into the low 40s.

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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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.

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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 occur.