25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
25th Annual Black Diamond Fall Fundraising Party
Thursday, September 13; 6:00-10:00 PM; Black Diamond Parking Lot
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains | Issued by Evelyn Lees for Saturday - February 24, 2018 - 7:45am |
---|
special announcement We have discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Snowbasin, and Beaver Mountain. Details and order information here. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education! |
current conditions The Provo area mountains received up to 20" of snow this week - a welcome addition to winter. You may catch a glimpse of sun this morning before skies cloud up again ahead of tonight’s storm. Temperatures are in the single digits at most stations this morning, and will struggle to crawl into the teens today. The westerly winds are stronger than I would like - while the mid elevations have 10 to 15 mph averages, to the north at 11,000’, speeds are averaging 35 mph, with gusts in the 40s, probably similar to what's going on at the high elevations of Timp and Cascade ridge line. Although Salt Lake-centric, be sure to check our Week in Review as you make your weekend plans: |
recent activity No avalanche activity reported from the Provo mountains on Friday, though lots of good observations this past week. 02/22/2018 Observation: Bobs Knob Provo region Woody 02/21/2018 Avalanche: Provo Provo region Andrew Bentz 02/19/2018 Avalanche: Big Springs Provo region Sterling Archer 02/19/2018 Avalanche: Big Springs Provo region Sterling Archer 02/17/2018 Observation: Provo Avalanche Cycle Provo region UDOT Provo Woody 02/16/2018 Avalanche: Cascade Ridge Provo region Sterling archer Photo below from Andrew Bentz observation shows a persistent slab avalanche from early this week: |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
---|
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
|
description
The winds are a bit of a spoiler today – wind speeds are strong enough to drift the low-density snow and expected to continue at the current speeds. The new wind drifts or wind slabs will cracky and easy to trigger, forming along the mid and higher elevation ridge lines. Avoid any steep slopes with wind drifts, and be aware that the drifts will become more widespread and deeper as the day progresses. Cornices will also be forming along the mid and upper elevation ridge lines. They often break back further than expected, so give them a wide berth and avoid travel below them. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
---|
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
|
description
As we continue to add more snow, including wind drifts, onto steep slopes, we could overload the some of the weak facet layers in the snowpack. Slides would most likely break on a mid-pack faceted weak layer, but isolated slides could break to the ground in shallow snowpack areas, including slopes that have slid one or more times this year. Any smaller triggered slide – including wind slabs – has the potential to step down to the deeper weak layers. Cracking and collapsing are bulls-eye clues to instability, but these clues may not be present. An excellent observation from Thursday highlights the overall weak snowpack structure found throughout the Provo mountains. The poor structure in shallower snow pack areas is disconcerting. Trent’s video from 8,000' on a north facing slope in Broads Fork. While in the Salt Lake mountains, it highlights the shallow snowpack issue. |
weather
|
general announcements CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ The UAC has new support programs with Outdoor Research and Darn Tough. Support the UAC through your daily shopping. When you shop at Smith's, or online at Outdoor Research, REI, Backcountry.com, Darn Tough, Patagonia, NRS, Amazon, eBay a portion of your purchase will be donated to the FUAC. See our Donate Page for more details on how you can support the UAC when you shop. 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. |