Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

UPDATE - 10:52am: Wind speeds increased more then anticipated and are drifting snow into sensitive drifts. The avalanche danger is on the rise, more so then expected due to wind transport. Expect any fresh wind drift to be sensitive to the weight of a person. Wind direction is generally from the northeast so watch west and southwest slopes as well as crossloaded terrain features on all aspects.

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

There is generally a MODERATE avalanche danger today. Keep in mind that this means HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE POSSIBLE! The most threatening is finding an area where an avalanche breaks into old snow on the more northerly half of the compass. Also monitor the new snow on all aspects for sluffing as well as lingering shallow soft slabs that may be reactive to people. Lastly, watch for the new snow to become unstable if it becomes damp and heavy with any warming.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Storm totals are about 11 inches in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon. Amounts drastically decrease as you work into Big Cottonwood, along the Park City Ridgeline, and the Provo area mountains where there's only about half that amount. The Ogden mountains received even less. A couple snow safety teams noted slightly inverted snow with heavier density during the last impulse. Overnight temperatures were around 20 degrees and winds have stayed in check only gusting in the 20s and 30s along the most exposed peaks with gusts around 10 mph along the mid elevation ridges.

RECENT ACTIVITY

By 6pm Saturday, I found about 6 to 8 inches of new snow in Days Fork which would sluff easily on slopes of about 37 degrees and steeper. I found a mid storm weakness within the new snow that was reactive with shovel tilt tests but didn't find it to crack under foot until I was exiting. At this point I was able to remotely trigger a steep gully wall which propagated at least 200 feet down the gully, releasing both sides as it went down. This very wide slab was only about 3 inches deep and the debris almost didn't make it to the gully bottom. It is fairly common behavior for new snow to be quite sensitive during high snowfall rates especially with a slightly heavier density falling on top. These new snow instabilities usually settle rapidly.

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

The most likely way to get seriously injured in an avalanche today is to find an area that breaks into old snow. While many areas where this is likely to occur didn't get that much new snow, keep in mind the recent activity that occurred from our last small event that produced sizable naturals in Stairs and Broads Fork as well as one human triggered slide in Scotties Bowl with significant injuries. Be diligent about digging into the older snow to check for weakness and clean shears.

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

As with most new snow instabilities, things stabilize quick and I'd expect the new snow to be settled out for the most part by the time people are getting on it. Sluffing may still occur but I'd expect the fracturing to be more spotty. However, quick shovel tilt tests, ski cuts and walking above skin tracks should easily reveal any weakness that may still be present. This will be very manageable if you watch what your doing.

THREAT #3
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 8 hours.

Lastly, consider that the slightest little solar change can quickly tip the balance between stable and unstable new snow at this time of the season. Skies don't need to go totally blue for new snow to become damp and unstable. This can happen with clouds in what we call "greenhousing" where the cloud cover almost seems to magnify the suns effect making the snow damp.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

There should be enough moisture during the day to produce mostly cloudy skies with the chance for a snow flurry this morning. Wind directions should be north or northeast with light to moderate speeds. Ridgetop temperatures will get into the mid 20s. High pressure builds in with warming this week and our first taste of above 0 Celsius 700 mb temperatures by Tuesday. Weather models are hinting at a trof/cold front for late in the week.

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.

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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.

Drew 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.