Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Salt Lake Area Mountains Issued by Evelyn Lees for Sunday - December 7, 2014 - 6:05am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is mostly LOW, with pockets of MODERATE danger on upper elevation slopes facing northwest through north through northeast. In isolated spots you could still trigger a slide breaking near the ground, and any ride in an early season avalanche will be rough, exposing you to rocks and stumps.




special announcement

Check out the Knowledge is Powder video for snowmobilers. The Utah Avalanche Center, with major funding from the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, has released a very exciting 9-minute, avalanche safety video for snowmobilers. You can view it on Vimeo. Here is the link: https://vimeo.com/113677686. Great job by Trent Meisenheimer, Craig Gordon and everyone who helped shoot, provide footage, act and all the extras.

current conditions

Under clear skies, temperatures dropped into the low to mid 20s at most mountain stations in the Salt Lake and Park City mountains. The winds have shifted to the west and are very light, averaging less than 15 mph at most stations, with the highest gusts only in the 20s.

The shallow, below average snowpack is generally supportable, and packed trails and roads are the best access to the deeper snow in the upper elevation. Shady northerly facing slopes still have a bit of soft snow up high; the frozen snow on low to mid elevation and sunny slopes will soften rapidly today between the abundant sun and warmer temperatures.

recent activity

No new avalanches were reported from the backcountry. Here are some observations from yesterday:

Salt Lake 12/6/2014 Observation: Red Pine Gulch Tyler Falk Details
Salt Lake 12/6/2014 Observation: Hidden Canyon Greg Gagne with Dave Pease Details
Salt Lake 12/6/2014 Observation: Scotties John Details
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

The sugary facets on the ground are still the concern. On some slopes, these facets are moist and strengthening, where on other slopes they are dry, sugary and loose, with a cohesive slab above. And the pattern of strong and weak snow is not logical - a snow pit or quick hand pit on one slope may not be representative of the snowpack on another slope.

Photos of facets going "bad" (or weakening) and a snow pit showing a slab sitting on weak snow. (photos from Greg Gagne/Dave Pease)

While most slopes are stable, I still can’t quite imagine jumping onto every steep slope out there – I think there are isolated places where a person could trigger a slide, on the upper elevation slopes facing northwest, north and northeast, which would break near the ground.

weather

Clear skies, light winds and warm temperatures – a spring like forecast, though the shortest day of the year is only 2 weeks away. High’s today will be in the low 40s at 8,000’ and the low 30s at 10,000’. The westerly winds will remain light, with most stations averaging less than 15 mph. This forecast will be repeated for at least the next 4 days, with the addition of occasional mid and high level clouds. Somewhere around the end of the week, it looks like we will get a shot of snow.

general announcements

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, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

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 (801-223-4150)

EMAIL ADVISORY  If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.​ 

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.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides Blog/Itinerary for the Day.  

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

Ski Utah mobile snow updates

Discount lift tickets will soon be 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.  You can see the uphill travel policy for each resort here. IMPORTANT: Before skinning or hiking 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.

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 exist.