Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

On March 11th and 13th, the Utah Avalanche Center and SheJumps will team up to provide a Backcountry 101 class for women only. We will have a Friday night lecture and a Sunday field day to teach youthe basics of how to ski / ride avalanche smart in the Utah backcountry andgive you the confidence and skills to make good decisions for yourself and your group in the backcountry. Details here.

There are just a few lift tickets left - to Sundance and Wolf Mountain ski resorts – 100% of the sale of these donated tickets goes to support the Utah Avalanche.


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is at Level 2 (MODERATE) for recent deposits of wind drifted snow mostly in the mid and upper elevation northerly facing terrain. Be wary of areas with a thinner overall snowpack where the addition of a recent drift plus a human trigger might get something to break into buried weak layers.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

We have fairly mild temperatures in the mountains for the most part in the upper 20s to low 30s at many stations. Along the higher ridgetops they’re in the low 20s. Southerly winds have increased into the Moderate category with stronger gusts. Some stations show a hint of a southeast direction. Nice settled snow was still found in the low to mid elevation protected areas on Tuesday.


RECENT ACTIVITY

It finally got warm enough with enough direct sun to produce some natural wet activity on the southerly slopes on Tuesday. UDOT also triggered some with explosives mid day producing a few good sized piles of debris. Some skiers in Mineral Fork had a large cornice break at their feet. It entrained a little snow but did not fracture out the slope below. Other explosive testing in the Salt Lake region in non-skier compacted snow produced some avalanches breaking deeper into older weak snow. Is this something a skier, snowboarder or sledder could trigger?


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Wind slabs remain the primary concern today. It seems like the wind can always find snow to blow around and form drifts. These will probably be fairly stubborn and if you trigger one, burial is unlikely but injuries certainly possible. I would especially steer clear of any fresh drifts on the outskirts of the Tri Canyons in areas with a thinner overall snowpack containing deeper buried facets. These areas have been somewhat active and seem to need a little more time before I’d really feel comfortable getting onto them.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll have increasing clouds with mild temperatures and breezy southwest winds. Ridgetop temperatures should max out in the upper 20s and winds will remain at moderate speeds with stronger gusts. We may see some snow flurries late in the afternoon as a series of disturbances starts to effect our area into Friday. Currently it looks like flurries tonight with a few inches possible then the best period of snowfall during the day Thursday perhaps adding 6 inches and flurries again Friday with a small amount of accumulation.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams 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.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

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.

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.

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

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email by clicking HERE

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.

We 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.