Avalanche forecast

Skyline

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The danger rating on the Skyline is CONSIDERABLE today.

Any steep slope in the upper elevation terrain that faces north, northeast or east could produce a deep, dangerous avalanche.

Some slopes will stay in place, some won't. You can't tell which ones are stable and which ones aren't. You won't see any signs of danger. This makes things exceptionally dangerous.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    4

    The wind on Saturday was moving enough snow where you could find a fresh drift today that might crack out on you. Simply avoid very steep slopes that have cornices and obvious drifts on them.

    The bigger concern is the continued threat of an avalanche breaking deeper into older layers of sugary faceted snow. I believe this will be a concern through the rest of the season. The weak layers were too well developed and just don't want to stabilize now.

    Some slopes I've looked at and taken snow profiles from look stable. All the recent sled triggered avalanches demonstrate that many other slopes remain unstable. You cannot tell which slope is stable and which one is unstable just by looking at them. This means that if you're getting into steep terrain, it's just like placing a bet and rolling the dice. You might win. You might loose.

Snow and Weather

Current Conditions: Clouds hung around most of the day Saturday with lingering snowfall that didn't add up to much. Temperatures got into the low 30s in the high terrain. Moderate speed wind was definitely moving snow along the higher ridgelines. In the higher terrain, the snow stayed cold and dry. Drop a little elevation and it became damp and thick. I'm guessing today will still provide quite good riding conditions for the most part.

Mountain Weather: Today starts a significant warm up. Clouds should continue to clear and high temperatures will get up to around 40˚F. The wind will be from the northwest and generally light in speed. Temperatures may hit 60˚F in the higher terrain by mid week.

Additional Info

General Announcements

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.

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