Forecast: Provo Area Mountains - Utah Avalanche Center

Forecast for the Provo Area Mountains

Issued by Trent Meisenheimer on
Monday morning, December 20, 2021

Areas of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist on northwest through easterly facing slopes above about 8,000'. Avalanches may break down 2' deep and propagate over a hundred feet wide. It may also be possible to trigger them from a distance or from below. Pockety wind drifts may be found in the upper elevation bands and are to be avoided.

Low

Moderate

Considerable

High

Extreme

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Weather and Snow

High pressure will continue over Northern Utah today, allowing for mostly clear skies and warm temperatures. Temperatures will rise into the mid 30's °F at 8,500', and you might see the occasional mid-to-high cloud stream by overhead; otherwise, it will be sunny. The current mountain temperatures are inverted with the 11,000' temperature at 25°F and the 6,800' temperature at 20°F. Winds are currently from the southwest at speeds of 15-25 mph across the upper elevations.

Backcountry riders can find Greg's excellent Week in Review HERE.

Recent Avalanches

The string of remotely triggered slides continues to pour into the UAC. Be sure to look at all of these reports with photos/videos, etc. can be found under Observations and Avalanches in the menu above.

Of note: was an avalanche out of Hidden Canyon near Brighton Ski Resort. This avalanche was on a northerly facing slope at 9,600' in elevation. It failed roughly 600' wide and anywhere from 2-4' deep, running into a nasty terrain trap that terminates into thick trees. The avalanche was reported by someone else to Brighton Ski Patrol, and upon inspection, it showed two tracks entering the avalanche with no tracks coming out the bottom. Brighton & Solitude Ski Patrols were called into the scene, and they were able to use Recco, along with two dog teams, to search the debris field. Luckily it was determined that nobody was caught in this avalanche. Please, if you trigger an avalanche, report it. There is no need to put others in harm's way if nobody is caught in the avalanche.

Type

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Likelihood

Size

Description

A conditionally unstable snowpack exists on steep west to north to east facing slopes above about 8,000'. This unstable layering has produced numerous dangerous avalanches in the SLC mountains. It'll be important to dig down to look for this unstable layering and avoid steep terrain that harbors this structure. Look for a strong slab layer over a few inches of weak, sugary snow.

Cracking and collapsing may or may not exist. At this point, I would avoid steep terrain on the north (shady) side of the compass as avalanches may be 1-3' deep and a hundred feet wide or more.

FORTUNATELY, THE TRAVEL ADVICE IS SIMPLE:

If you want to ride terrain on the northerly (shady) side of the compass, you must choose slopes under 30° degrees in steepness with nothing steep above you.
The other option: ride slopes that DO NOT have weak faceted snow. These are slopes facing southeast, south, and southwest. Here the sun melted away the old October/November snow to the dirt, and there is no weak layer, so there is no avalanche problem on these slopes.

Type

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Likelihood

Size

Description

Increasing southwesterly winds overnight have drifted the recent storm snow into soft pillowy slabs of wind-blown snow. They will be reactive to the weight of a skier or rider on the slope and may be more sensitive than you think. These drifts may be up to 12" deep or more pronounced just lee of the ridgelines on slopes facing west to north to southeast. Some mid-elevation exposed ridgelines may be prone to wind drifting as well.

Additional Information

If you trigger or see an avalanche adjacent to the road or one of the ski areas and are sure no one was caught in the avalanche, call the nearest mountain dispatch and alert them to the situation, this will allow SAR teams to stand down, preventing them from being subjected to unnecessary hazard.

Salt Lake and Park City – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Canyons Resort/PCMR Dispatch (435 -615-1911)

Snowbasin Resort Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Powder Mountain Dispatch (801-745-3772 x 123).

Sundance Dispatch (801-223-4150)

General Announcements

Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GENERAL INFO AND FAQ

This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

Observations and Avalanches

Backcountry Emergency Procedures