Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Thursday - February 15, 2018 - 7:30am
bottom line

Areas of MODERATE danger exists for new snow avalanches and more prominent in the upper reaches along the Cascade ridgeline. Deeper avalanches stepping into old snow are possible in isolated steep terrain with poor snow structure - most likely on a steep, north or northeast facing slope at the upper elevations.




special announcement

Maybe worth the drive...At 6PM on February 17 at Alpine Distilling in Park City, join a presentation on the UAC's Avalanche Awareness Know Before You Go Program then learn about how we perceive aroma and taste through whiskey while seeing how Alpine Distilling crafts local, award winning spirits. The evening will feature a specialty cocktail made with Alpine Distilling's Persistent (Weak Layer) Vodka and include a raffle for a backcountry kit (beacon, shovel, and probe) donated by Backcountry.com. Contact [email protected] for details and reservations.

current conditions

This storm looks like a decent producer for the south side of Provo canyon with 7"/0.57" reported at 8800'. The north side of Provo canyon is reporting 2-3". Temps are in the upper teens; winds are westerly at 15mph.

recent activity

No avalanche activity reported from the backcountry yesterday, and no recent observations from the Provo area mountains.

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 snow instabilities will be more prominent in the steeper terrain with the highest snow totals. Wind drifts may be found in the open exposed terrain while loose snow sluffing in the lower density snow is possible in the new snow.

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

We are incrementally loading our buried faceted weak layers with a series of small storms and wind events. I backed off two slopes in the past week in steep, thin and rocky terrain that harbored old weak snow at the base of the snowpack.

There is a lot of variability in the snowpack strength and depth. Slopes with a shallower snowpack, especially those that are rocky, tend to have weaker snow. Spatial variabitlity is what we call the differences from one slope to another and could make for tricky conditions if we get the forecast snow and wind.

See a short discussion in this video.

weather

Light snowfall should be tapering off soon. Winds will be from the west, blowing 15mph with gusts to 20. Temps will drop to the low teens enroute the single digits at the highest elevations. The next storm arrives on Sunday.

general announcements

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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 occur.