Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains | utahavalanchecenter.org

Avalanche Advisory

Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains	Issued by Brett Kobernik for March 29, 2013 - 6:01am

Above 9,500 ft.

8,000-9,500 ft.

Below 8,000 ft.

bottom line

The avalanche danger is generally Low but may rise to Moderate this afternoon.

Watch for:
1) Wet sluffs and perhaps some glide avalanches with afternoon heating. More sun equals more danger.
2) If we have afternoon convective showers, watch for fresh wind slabs deposited in upper elevations.

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

special announcement

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current conditions

Today's advisory is basically a clone of yesterday. Temperatures behaved the same as they did the previous 24 hours. They were in the 40s and 50s in the mountains yesterday and only around freezing overnight. Winds are light and variable but we are under a west southwest flow. Most slopes have a sun crust with the exception of some lingering dry snow on the upper elevation steep northerly facing slopes that still ride pretty well. Check the Snow Page for details.

Below is a 24hr weather chart from Tom's Hill (9000') in Mill D North of Big Cottonwood. More of these charts can be found HERE.

recent activity

No significant activity reported yesterday except for some larger rollerballs and a few wet sluffs on steep slopes as they heated up. More glide cracks are appearing as well. There were not many people in the backcountry yesterday.

Avalanche Problem 1over the next 8 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

It's another spring-like day today with very warm temperatures combined with afternoon convective clouds, which may produce a snow squall. So you will have to watch for a variety of different avalanche concerns today based on what the weather does:

1) Watch for wet sluffs, sensitive cornices and perhaps some glide avalanches with afternoon heating. More sun = more danger.
2) Convective afternoon showers often produce strong, gusty wind, graupel and perhaps even lightning. So watch for wind recent wind slabs deposited in upper elevation dry, loose snow and also for small avalanches in the graupel (that Styrafoam ball-type of snow that stings your face)

Generally the avalanche danger from these problems will be relatively minor with the overall danger rating perhaps rising from Low this morning to Moderate by afternoon.

weather

As Bruce's Mother in Law says, "Spring is a fight between winter and summer." We may see a bit more cloud cover today than yesterday. Temperatures should rise from freezing this morning to the mid 50's at the 8000 foot level and around 40 along the ridges again and then we could get some convective, afternoon showers.

The extended forecast calls for more of the same spring weather through the weekend.

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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Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet.

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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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