Today the avalanche danger is LOW on all aspects and elevations. Watch out for snow becoming wet on south-facing slopes especially in terrain with a lot of exposed rocks. In these isolated areas, there could be some loose wet avalanches. Avalanches are unlikely today and conditions are generally safe, but low danger DOES NOT mean avalanches are impossible. There could be unstable snow in isolated areas.
Maintain normal safe travel protocols of only exposing one person at a time to avalanche terrain. If you were to trigger a slide, your only hope of surviving will be having partners watching you from a safe location.
With strong sunshine and warm air temperatures, the snow on south facing slopes should become a little wet today. If riding south facing slopes, watch for the ice crusts on the surface to melt and look for pinwheels of snow rolling downhill. If you see these signs, wet avalanches are becoming possible, and you should move to terrain that doesn't have wet snow.
All indications are that the persistent weak layer of facets near the ground is dormant for now. This layer has gained noticeable strength. It has a 3-10 foot thick hard slab on top of it and will be hard to impact. Most extended column tests (but not all) are no longer breaking at all. There was only one reported collapse three days ago; otherwise, no other collapses reported in sometime. The last avalanches on this layer were a week ago. Yesterday I tried to find any signs of instability on this layer high in Neffs Canyon but couldn't find any. While Neffs is near Big Cottonwood, I was digging in places with a snowpack that mirrored conditions in the Provo area mountains.
It's not impossible to trigger hard slab avalanches on this layer but it is unlikely.
The most recent avalanche activity was some wet loose avalanches in south facing terrain five days ago. The last reported dry, hard slab avalanches were a week ago on January 7th. Our Week in Review can be found HERE>
This morning temperatures are inverted - in the mid 20s F in the mountains but in the teens F at many trailheads. Winds are blowing from the north and northeast at 15 mph gusting to 25 mph at ridgelines.
Today will have mostly sunny skies and temperatures will rise to 32 degrees F with light north and northwest winds. It will be a beautiful day to escape valley inversions and enjoy the mountains.
Great snow can still be found mostly in wind and sun-sheltered slopes. The combination of clear, cold nights and warm sunny days has faceted the surface snow in many places making it soft and loose. Otherwise, there are ice crusts on southerly facing slopes as well as low elevation slopes that warmed two days ago and refroze.
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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.
