Salt Lake Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Brett Kobernik

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

TeleVision comes to Park City - see the latest Powderwhores radical version of backcountry skiing on Wednesday, Dec 8. Raffle proceeds to the FUAC. Details athttp://utahavalanchecenter.org/event.

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center will be teaching 1 evening/1 field day introductory and advanced avalanche classes this winter beginning Thursday, Dec 16th. Details at Education Page.

Announcing an online auction for a pair of Black Diamond Drift skis with custom Avy Center graphics. Your choice of 176 or 186 cm. Go to ebay and search for item 320624812251. These were custom built for the FUAC & all proceeds go to forecasting & education in Utah!

BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

The avalanche danger is generally Level 1 (LOW) however you should continue to evaluate snow conditions looking for small wind slabs along the high exposed ridges and avoid terrain traps such as gullies at the lower elevations where the snow is damp.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

There was some light rain reported below about 9000 feet in the Cottonwoods on Saturday. Yesterday’s warm temperatures may have been the final blow to good riding conditions causing even some of the most deranged skiers to halt seeking areas with dense settled powder. Temperatures are again right around freezing this morning. Winds are light and variable. There’s been a trace of snow in the last 24 hours above about 9000 feet. We have cloudy skies.

RECENT ACTIVITY

Park City snow safety reported releasing a couple of small stubborn lingering wind slabs with slope cuts on Saturday. The only other significant observations included damp snow and large rollerballs in the lower elevations.

THREAT #1
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

When ever you are in avalanche terrain, which is any snow covered slope with angles generally over 30 degrees, you always need to assess conditions even when things are relatively quiet. Be aware of how things change with aspect and elevation. If you’re getting into higher more exposed terrain, continue to watch for minor wind slabs along steep ridges.

THREAT #2
WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 8 hours.

As far as lower elevations, I don’t think they will become really unstable due to warm temperatures today but there’s probably enough concern to avoid steep gullies below around 8500 feet or so.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

It’ll be another day with not the most inspiring weather but it may be a good day to go take advantage of the solitude of the mountains. We’ll have cloudy skies, mild temperatures and light winds today. A small storm system should bring snow Monday afternoon. Temperatures will drop into the mid 20s and we should see .25 to .5 inches of water equivalent in the snow which will be in the 3 to 6 inch range.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following agencies 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 – Alta Central (801-742-2033)

Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017)

Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150)

Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You can participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or goto utahavalanchecenter.org and click on Contact.

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

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

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.

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.

This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.