Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Skyline Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - February 16, 2014 - 5:58am
bottom line

The avalanche danger remains HIGH. Deep, dangerous, and possibly unsurvivable human triggered avalanches are likely. It is crucial to tone it down, avoid all steep slopes, and consider the consequences of triggering an avalanche that breaks to the ground.
avalanche warning
THIS AVALANCHE WARNING IS FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH. A HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER CONTINUES WITH LARGE, NATURAL AND HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES POSSIBLE. BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD AVOID SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES AND AVALANCHE RUNNOUT AREAS. THIS WARNING DOES NOT INCLUDE SKI AREAS OR HIGHWAYS WHERE AVALANCHE CONTROL IS NORMALLY DONE.
current conditions

Skies are overcast, temperatures didn't cool much overnight and currently they're in the high 30's and low 40's. Southwest winds are blowing 10-20 mph along the Skyline Summit. It's been an active week on the Skyline and we've stacked up about 2' feet of snow with 2" of water. Up high, it's dense and spongy, but lose some elevation and you'll find the snow has taken a hard hit and it's quite damp, even close to saturated at lower elevations.

Recent trip reports can be found here.

The region got pasted this week and the Skyline is wet and white.

recent activity

From Cade Beck and Brett who visited the site of this masssive sled triggered slide in Spring Creek yesterday... "rider was hill climbing in the looker right half of the bowl. At apex of highmark the slope released. He was able to ride the avalanche on his sled most of the way down before getting bucked off and thrown near the toe. Luckily, he was not buried or seriously injured." More details here.
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

Nothing has changed since yesterday and we've got it all.... weak snowpack structure, lots of water and snow from the recent storm cycle, and the biggest red flag.... lots of deep, scary avalanches! It's a dangerous setup on the Skyline because the snow will feel strong and stable under our sled, skis, or board. However, we've gotta think not only about the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on, and it's a sketchy setup. Early season snow grew weak and sugary over time and now we have a cohesive piece of snow resting on top. Strong snow on weak snow.... no es bueno!.

The snowpack needs some time to heal and we need to exercise some patience. For the next couple of days you need to avoid being on or under steep slopes, especially those that face the north half of the compass.

Click here for a quick viddy describing the setup.
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

Road lappers please take note-

Low elevation snow is wet and nearly saturated in some locations and it won't take a large slide to stack up deep piles of cement-like snow, especially if it's channeled into a terrain trap like a gully or stream bed. Just 'cause you can see the car doesn't mean it's safe. Carefully assess your terrain choices and think about the consequences of triggering even a small slide.
Avalanche Problem 3
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Strong west and southwest winds have made cornices quite large and they're unpredictable, breaking back further than you might expect. Once triggered, a cornice could easily break into weaker layers of snow as it crashes to the slope below, creating a slide that quickly gets out of hand..
weather

A cold front moves through the area late this afternoon, bringing a quick burst of snow through early this evening. We should see cooling temperatures, westerly winds gusting into the 40's and 50's along the high peaks, and a couple inches of snow. High pressure develops behind the system tonight. The next storm system to impact the area will come midweek.
general announcements

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The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

This advisory will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 or sooner if conditions warrant.