Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

UDOT will have temporary road closures in Little Cottonwood Canyon through this morning due to avalanche mitigation.

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

Most terrain has a Low to Moderate avalanche danger. There are scattered areas with a Considerable avalanche danger which include the steeper northwest, north and northeast upper elevation terrain. Many seasoned backcountry travelers continue to play it cautiously in this terrain. Also, watch for southerly slopes to become damp and possibly unstable later today.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under partly cloudy skies, temperatures dipped into the low teens overnight and we have light northeast winds. Riding conditions remain excellent on many aspects with some heat damage to the southerly aspects.

RECENT ACTIVITY

Only minor new snow related activity was reported from Wednesday which occurred in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon where there was some minor loose snow avalanching within the most recent snow and a small shallow skier triggered soft slab that looks like it released into Monday’s snow.

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

The biggest threat remains an avalanche breaking into old weak snow near the ground although it seems like this issue is dormant at the time being. Poor snowpack structure along with continued propagation in tests indicate we haven’t heard the last of this yet, we just may need another good shot of snow before we see avalanches again. This being said, savvy people are still quite leery of many slopes out there.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 8 hours.

Temperatures won’t get real warm today but you might want to keep an eye on what the sun does to south facing slopes. It may be enough to create a some instability within the recent snow layering.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll have scattered clouds today with 8000 foot temperatures getting into the mid to upper 20s and low 20s along the ridges. Winds should be light to moderate from the northwest. Friday looks similar with northwest winds increasing a bit. A cold front will push through early Sunday morning which should produce a shot of new snow for us.

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)

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

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone http://utahavalanchecenter.org/twitter)

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

Wasatch Powderbird Guides does daily updates about where they'll be operating on this blog http://powderbird.blogspot.com/ .

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.

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.