Salt Lake

Most terrain has a LOW avalanche danger. Watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features.

If we see more snow than expected, the avalanche danger for dry sluffs and pockety wind drifts will rise to MODERATE.

Heading out early? We record the Dawn Patrol Hotline (888-999-4019 option 6) by about 5-5:30am each morning with a quick summary of weather, recent avalanche activity, and the general avalanche hazard for the day.

The latest blog-casts are out -

Shame and the Social Contract - (this is a short one - 10 minutes)

Stacking the Deck (A Hindsight 20/40 story - this is a shorter one - 5 minutes)

Yesterday while descending Stairs Gulch of BCC, a skier unintentionally triggered a shallow 50' wide wind slab that broke above him, catching and carrying him over a 15' cliffband. He sustained minor injuries but was able to self-extricate. (Forecaster Note: Thanks for the observation and report; glad all's mostly well.)

Others noted a significant glide avalanche that likely released on Monday in Broads Fork (between Bonkers and the Diving Board). pic below. The debris easily overran previous tracks. This is roughly 9600' east-northeast facing and classic glide release habitat on the steep and smooth and unsupported rocky slabs in mid-Broads Fork.

Skies are mostly cloudy becoming overcast ahead of the first of two loosely organized storm systems to affect the state through Sunday. Mountain temperatures are in the mid to upper 20s; the southeasterlies continue to blow 25-30mph with gusts to 45 but should lose steam as the storm moves overhead.

The idea that the Inuit have many words for snow is generally attributed to the linguist and anthropologist Franz Boas based upon his research on Baffin Island before, and just after, the turn of the century. Examples included aput, expressing snow on the ground; another one, qana, falling snow; a third one, piqsirpoq, drifting snow; and a fourth one, qimuqsuq, referring to a snowdrift proper.* Current snow conditions in english are otherwise unprintable in this polite company. But conditions should improve with a few inches here and there that may add up to a foot through Sunday.

* At the 2004 International Snow Science Workshop in Jackson, the long time ski guide Roger Atkins (before he turned his back on the Wasatch in favor of working for Canadian Mtn Holidays in BC) presented An Avalanche Characterization Checklist for Backcountry Travel Decisions as a way to steer practitioners toward a common language in describing avalanche character, or problems. This was foundational to us at the Utah Avalanche Center (and eventually all avalanche centers) to build our forecasts around avalanche problem types and the use of icons back in 2005. From Franz Boas in the early 1900s...to Roger Atkins in the early 2000s...all part of our history of understanding and communicating about snow and avalanches.

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.