Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Provo Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Sunday - March 4, 2018 - 7:48am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today at mid and upper elevations on slopes that have received more than about 8" of snow or that have recent deposits of wind drifted snow. There is also CONSIDERABLE danger for triggering A deeper, persistent slab avalanche on slopes facing W-N-SE, especially on slopes with a thinner snowpack. Backcountry travelers need to possess excellent snow evaluation and route finding skills and stay off of and out fromunder avalanche terrain.




special announcement

This is Eric Trenbeath up from Moab on an exchange with Drew Hardesty. It's good to be back in the Wasatch!

I'm especially excited about this one! The latest edition of the UAC podcast is live - "A Conversation with Tom Kimbrough. Hemingway of the Wasatch". Tom is a retired climbing ranger in Grand Teton National Park, and a longtime avalanche forecaster with the UAC. A role model and mentor to many of us. Sit back and enjoy listening to Drew having a conversation with Tom!

Spend some time improving your rescue skills or learning about avalanches in this upcoming Salt Lake City area class:
current conditions

The Provo Mountains have received 6-10" overnight with a little more on the way. Southwesterly winds that blew strong for the past couple of days began to slowly taper off about the time the snow started to fall. They averaged 20-30 mph with gusts as high as 50 overnight, and have begun a shift westerly averaging 15-20 mph.

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recent activity

Wasatch Powderbirds provided excellent photos from the natural cycle earlier this week in Cascade Ridgeline from the Monday wind event, and yesterday John Woodruff was able to intentionally trigger this persistent slab avalanche.
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

Northwesterly winds will be on the increase today drifting and blowing the new snow on to the lee sides of ridge crests and terrain features. Suspect any steep slope with smooth rounded deposits of wind drifted snow, and look for signs of instability such as cracking in the snow surface.

Winds are also creating widespread cornices along ridgelines. Give them a wide berth when traveling along ridges and avoid travel beneath them.
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

Avalanches breaking into old snow have been reported this past week. This includes layers of faceted snow at the mid-pack, as well as down near the ground. This terrain can be found in upper elevation terrain facing north through southeast. The snowpack in the Provo mountains is quite thin and weak, especially at the lower elevations. The photo below is on a north aspect at 8700' on Mount Timpanogas, a snowpack that looks more early season than early March! You can read UAC director Mark's Staples full observation from Thursday by clicking here.

Slopes that are most suspect include thinner snowpack areas as well as slopes that have already slid this season. Although we are not expecting the bulk of the snowfall with this upcoming storm to begin falling until Saturday, drifts from the strong pre-frontal winds will add stress to these weak layers.
weather

Snow will continue this morning with another 2-4" possible. Northwest winds will blow in the 20-25 mph range and mountain temps will be in the low teens.

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.