Wasatch Cache National Forest
In partnership with: Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department of Emergency Services and Homeland Security and Salt Lake County.

“keeping you on top”

AVALANCHE ADVISORY

Sunday, March 30, 2008 7:30 am
Good morning, this is Drew Hardesty with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your backcountry avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Sunday, March 30, 2008 and it’s about 7:30 am.

Current Conditions:

Light snowfall has kicked off the first piece of this next storm, and as of 5am, most areas have a trace to three inches. This first piece of the storm, coming in on a southerly track, will initially benefit the Provo and Park City mountains, upper Big Cottonwood, and the southern flank of the Uintas. Temperatures are in the upper teens and low twenties, and there’s hardly a whisper of wind off the highest ridgelines, where they’re blowing at about 15mph out of the south. Riding conditions are fair, but should improve dramatically with a foot or better expected through Monday.

Snow and Avalanche Discussion:

Friday night’s stronger southwesterly winds loaded and cross-loaded many lee slopes with your garden-variety shallow soft slabs no wider than about 30’. Many observers could intentionally initiate these very manageable 8” drifts on the steeper rollovers, and few posed any issues in less than radical terrain.

Drifting should be at a minimum today and relegated to the highest ridgelines as snow falls straight from the sky. Sluffing will likely be the main concern in the new snow, with bonding to the old snow surfaces relative from location to location. New snow arguably bonds poorly to hard slick wind crusts or boiler plate, rain crusts, and weak recrystallized snow; and well to warmer snow surfaces, settled powder, and warm and corrugated melt freeze crusts. Test slopes and quick hand shears will provide the clue while you’re on route today.

Bottom Line for the Salt Lake, Park City, Ogden and Provo area mountains:

A generally LOW danger this morning will rise to MODERATE with the additional accumulations today. Sluffing, storm snow avalanches, and shallow wind pockets will be our main issues, and easily mitigated with cornice drops and ski/slope cuts. The danger will be on the rise tonight and tomorrow as a strong cold front sweeps through with gustier winds and higher snowfall rates.

Mountain Weather:

This first part of the trof scooping into Utah will provide the first stage of snowfall, with an initial rain/snow line at around 5-5500’. Southerly and southwesterly favored areas may see 4-8” this morning and an additional 3-6” this evening. Winds will be light from the south with temps in the low twenties and high teens. Tomorrow morning’s cold front crashes through in the wee hours, dropping temps to the low single digits and providing another good dose of snow, allowing today’s snubbed areas to catch up. Lake enhancement is a good possibility. Another weak system moves through on Wednesday.

Announcements
The Wasatch Powderbird Guides didn’t get out yesterday, and would be permitted for AF, Cascade, Lamb’s and the Sessions today. For more detailed information please call (801) 742-2800 or go to their daily blog.

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838.
Our statewide tollfree line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

Watch video tututorials and fieldwork from UAC staff at our YouTube channel.

The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.  To find out more about how you can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and education that you expect please visit our Friends page.

If you see any avalanches or interesting snow conditions, please leave us a message at (801) 524-5304 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at [email protected]. (Fax 801-524-6301).

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 on Mon day morning.