Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains | utahavalanchecenter.org

Avalanche Advisory

Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains	Issued by Evelyn Lees for March 15, 2013 - 6:18am

Above 9,500 ft.

8,000-9,500 ft.

Below 8,000 ft.

bottom line

Once again, the avalanche danger will increase to CONSIDERABLE with day time heating. Both natural and human triggered wet avalanches are possible. The largest of these will be big enough to carry and injure or bury and kill a person. Avoid travel on and below steep slopes as the day and snow heats up.

danger scale:	1. Low	2. Moderate	3. Considerable	4. High	5. Extreme

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Ski the night away at the 12 Hours of Canyons. On March 29 at 7 pm, we will start skiing at Canyons and we won’t stop until breakfast goes on the table at 7 am. Have you ever skied all night by headlamp? Do you think you could? How much vertical could you rack up?

current conditions

It was downright tropical overnight, with the temperatures at many mountain stations in the low 40s to 50 as of 4 am. The canyon bottoms and the highest peaks have temperatures in the 30s. Skies are partly to mostly cloudy as a bands of clouds move over the state. Winds are from the southwest and have picked up ever so slightly – a few stations averaging to 20 mph, with gusts into the low 30s. Any surface refreeze may be shorter lived than yesterday’s, depending a lot on cloud cover.

recent activity

Natural wet snow sluffs occurred throughout the Wasatch, from Ogden south to Provo, on northeast through south through west facing slopes, well in to the evening. They were up to size D2, which means that they were large enough to bury and kill a person in their wet cement like debris.

Mark White photo – Little Pine - wouldn't want to be buried in that!

Avalanche Problem 1over the next 10 hours

type

aspect/elevation

characteristics

Above 9,500 ft.

8,000-9,500 ft.

Below 8,000 ft.

likelihood	size
likely unlikely	large small
distribution	trend
widespread isolated	More Dangerous Same Less Dangerous

description

I expect another round of wet avalanches today, though increasing clouds and slightly stronger winds may partially offset the prolonged warm temperatures. In my mind, the Wet Avalanche Balance Sheet looks something like this:

There is a library of wet snow avalanche possibilities, both natural and human triggered, any of which could happen today. So take your pick -

Wet loose avalanches – these sluffs are gouging down, entraining extra snow. They can run long distances in confined tracks or gullies.
Wet slabs – the old faceted layers in the snowpack add to the chance of wet slabs, especially on northwest through easterly facing slopes
Glide cracks will continue to open, and can release at any time. Avoid crossing beneath these cracks. Broads Fork observation HERE.
Roof-a-lanches – roofs are shedding their snow and ice into deep, dense piles. .
Cornices falls, possibly triggering a slide.
While there is no snow on low elevation south through west facing slopes, a few long running naturals may travel down gullies to dirt trails.

weather

The high pressure over northern Utah will weaken slightly today, and temperatures will be slightly cooler. 10,000’ temperatures will cool from the current 40 degrees F to around 36 degrees by evening. 8,000’ highs will warm to near 50 today instead of close to 60. Winds will shift to the west or northwest, averaging about 15 mph, with gusts in the low 20s. The highest peaks could gust into the 30s. After a morning break in the cloud cover, high and mid-level clouds will increase again as a weak disturbance brings a slight chance of snow or rain tonight through Saturday. On Sunday, a cold front is forecast to cross northern Utah, significantly dropping temperatures and bring a small shot of snow.

general annoucements

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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 and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033), Canyons Resort Dispatch (435-615-3322)

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

Powder Mountain Ski Patrol Dispatch (801-745-3772 ex 123)

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

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

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Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

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For a print version of this advisory click HERE.

This advisory is produced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. Specific terrain and route finding decisions should always be based on skills learned in a field-based avalanche class.

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