Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains Issued by Drew Hardesty for Tuesday - January 7, 2014 - 6:12am
bottom line

Most terrain has a LOW danger. Pockets of MODERATE danger exist above 9500'. Avalanches may be possible in isolated areas or extreme terrain. Continue to practice safe travel protocol in steep terrain.




special announcement

Plenty going on this week - All these are free classes led by UAC forecast staff - See the full calendar here -

  • Tuesday (tonight), January 7th, 6pm at GEAR30 in Ogden - Bruce Tremper will give his patented Science of Avalanches talk (1931 S. Washington Blvd., Ogden, UT)
  • Wednesday, January 8th, 7pm in Park City - Hosted by the Canyons Ski Patrol, Brett Kobernik will be talking about persistent weak layers and how to manage them. This will be a combination of technical information and practical application. Held at the Treasure Mountain Junior High (2530 Kearns Blvd, Park City).
  • Thursday, January 9th, 7:30pm in SLC/Black Diamond store - As with the style of a "fireside chat", Drew Hardesty will be talking about a number of informal topics, including current conditions, avalanche problems and associated travel recommendations.
current conditions

We have partly-increasing-to-mostly cloudy skies as the first in a series of weather disturbances crosses northern Utah. Mountain temperatures have rebounded from Sunday/Monday's single digits and are now in the upper 20s to low 30s at most locations. The week's northwesterly winds slowly backed to the southwest, lost some steam, but have now increased to 15-20mph along the high ridgelines. Riding conditions are hunt and peck with the term "variable" used as a compliment. Still, remember that any time spent in the mountains is a gift.

recent activity

None. Our last significant avalanche activity was on Christmas Day. Take a look for yourself at our avalanche list here - (or find it under Detailed Info in the menu bar above.

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Triggering is unlikely, consequences severe. We're more and more like Colorado these last three years where you just can't let your guard down. I can't trust these persistent weak layers, particularly in the wind zone. I guess much is what we used to call our pucker factor. On Box Elder peak yesterday, I would not ski the slope below. Keeps it from being Low in my book -

Continue your safe travel protocol such as traveling one at a time, keeping and eye on your partners, and establish good communication habits.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Pockets of wind slab are found in the high alpine terrain; ski and slope cuts on test slopes should give representative terrain.

weather

The first in a series of weather disturbances is on our doorstep and we can expect to see periods of light snow through the week. For today, temps will be in the mid 20s at 10,000' and near 30 at 8000'. The west to southwest winds will blow 20mph along the higher ridgelines. By midday, skies will be mostly cloudy to overcast with a few flakes here and there. A more defined storm arrives Thursday, thought at this time looks to split prior to coming overhead. High pressure builds briefly for Friday with more significant weather on the way for the weekend.

general announcements

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.

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)

Snowbasin Resort Dispatch (801-620-1017), Powder Mountain Dispatch (801-745-3772 x 123).

Sundance Dispatch (801-231-4150)

EMAIL ADVISORY Get the Salt Lake avalanche advisory emailed to you every morning.  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

DAWN PATROL Hotline updated daily by 5-530am - 888-999-4019 option 8.

Twitter Updates for your mobile phone - DETAILS

UDOT canyon closures:  LINK TO UDOT

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.uned.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides Blog/Itinerary for the Day.  They'll be up and running later this winter -

Lost or Found something in the backcountry? - http://nolofo.com/

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com - Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts.  All proceeds go towards paying for Utah Avalanche Center avalanche and mountain weather advisories.

To those skinning uphill at resorts:  it is your responsibility to know the resort policy on uphill travel.  Some allow uphill travel and have guidelines, some don't. Contact the Ski Patrol at each resort for details. IMPORTANT: Before skinning at a resort under new snow conditions, check in with Ski Patrol.  Resorts can restrict or cut off access if incompatible with control and grooming operations.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI:  Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC.  Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell.  You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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 or Instagram.

Ski Utah mobile snow updates:
http://www.skiutah.com/get-mobile-snow-updates/