Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

One of our backcountry observers dropped a camera somewhere between the Alta Guard, Cardiff Fork and Reynolds Flat. Drop us a line if you've found it. Much appreciated!

BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

We have a mostly MODERATE avalanche danger today. Watch for sluffing this morning on upper elevation northerly aspects and for minor heat initiate activity with daytime heating on east through south through west aspects. Mid elevation slopes should be approached with caution as buried surface hoar may still produce an avalanche on northwest through northeast aspects.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Temperatures are cold this morning at just above zero in many mountain locations. We have light winds from the northwest along the mid elevation ridges and only gusting into the 20s along the most exposed peaks. 1 to 3 inches of light density snow fell late in the day in the Cottonwoods on Wednesday.

RECENT ACTIVITY

There were a few reports of small soft slab avalanches that released naturally during the recent storm. The new light density snow would sluff fairly easy when disturbed on the steeper slopes on Wednesday. While a few debris piles were reported up to 2 or 3 feet deep, these sluffs were quite manageable and didn't pose much threat in most locations.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Our focus will be on the newest snow again today. First off, watch the sluffing on the steeper upper elevation northerly slopes. Use ski cuts to try and initiate these to see if they're going to run on the slope you've chosen. As the day goes on, even with fairly cool temperatures expected today, we will want to watch for heat initiated activity. This probably won't pose much of a threat but be aware that any new snow is susceptible to becoming unstable with daytime heating at this time of the season and forward.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

You will still want to avoid a number of steep slopes that still could avalanche and break into our buried surface hoar layers. The chances for triggering something are becoming less over time but there are still a number of mid elevation slopes that I'm keeping clear of.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We're going to see partly cloudy skies with high pressure building this afternoon. Ridgetop temperatures will get into the mid 20s but may feel warmer with solar radiation. Winds will be from the northwest and may increase in speed slightly as the day goes on. A storm will move through this weekend but it looks like it is going to split and form a closed low to our south which is not ideal for snow accumulation in our area.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

SLC: Please contact Alta Central (801-742-2033) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Ogden: Please contact Snowbasin ski patrol (801620-1000/1017) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Provo: Please contact Sundance ski patrol (801 -223-4150) if you trigger a large avalanche in the backcountry, especially if you are adjacent to a ski area, to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30:888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Free UAC iPhone app from Canyon Sports.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

We appreciate all your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or fill out the observation form on our home page.

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

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.

Bruce will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.

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.

This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.