Heavy snow and strong westerly winds created dangerous avalanche conditions and CONSIDERABLE danger in the backcountry. Human triggered avalanches of wind drifted snow are likely, and avalanches involving new snow are possible on many slopes. More dangerous conditions exist on drifted upper elevation slopes facing northwest, north, northeast, and east, with large avalanches failing on a persistent weak layer near the ground possible. You can find safer options on slopes less steep than about 30 degrees and in lower elevation, sunny, and sheltered terrain.
Very weak sugary, faceted snow from late October lurks near the ground at upper elevations on shady northerly facing slopes. Large, destructive, and very dangerous avalanches are possible where this poor snow structure exists. Dangerous avalanches on some slopes could be triggered remotely, from a distance, or below!
Human triggered avalanches involving wind drifted snow are likely today. Avoid steep slopes with recently drifted snow.
On some slopes the new snow did not stick very well to the warm snow that was on the surface last week. Loose snow and soft slab avalanches consisting of storm snow are possible on steep mid and upper elevation slopes today, but the fresh snow will continue to settle and it should become stable pretty quickly today.
Beaver Mountain is closed to uphill traffic and all public use for set-up until opening day on Tuesday.
Friday in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City, a backcountry party had a very close call near Brighton in a backcountry area called Figure 8 Hill. A skier triggered and was caught and carried in a reported 3' deep and 100' avalanche that broke near the ground into the old weak early season snow. The skier came to rest with his head sticking out of the snow, but he had suffered a dislocated shoulder. Report is HERE
Locally:
-A few parties reported triggering small and manageable avalanches of new snow, some even in fairly gentle terrain.
-Two riders were caught and carried, and one of them was partially buried in an avalanche just north of the Idaho State Line last Saturday afternoon 12-7-19. Here's the Report
It's 7°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel this morning, and there is about 9 inches of new snow, with .8" SWE in the past 24 hours and 4.2" of SWE so far from the storm. I'm reading 55 inches of total snow at the site. It's 5°F at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and westerly winds are blowing about 14 mph.
Several people reported triggering small soft slab avalanches involving new snow yesterday (12-14-19).
Expect cloudy conditions in the mountains today, with 8500' high temperatures around 15°F, 5 to 9 mph west-northwest winds, and wind chills around -3°F. Snow showers are possible this evening, with mostly cloudy skies, low temperatures around 6°F, 9 mph west-northwest winds, and wind chills around -7°F. It will be mostly cloudy on Monday, with high temperatures around 14°F in the morning, falling to around 8°F in the evening, 9 mph west-northwest winds, and wind chills around -4°F. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on drifted upper and mid elevation slopes.
The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled vehicles in the winter.
Thanks to the generous support of our Utah ski resorts and Ski Utah, we have discount lift tickets available. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education! Get your tickets HERE.
Consider taking an avalanche class, there are many different options. Click on the Education menu for a full list of classes from the UAC and other providers. Check out the Know Before You Go eLearning program for free, online, avalanche classes.... HERE
Need a Christmas present for your favorite backcountry partner? Get one of these cool t-shirts to support the UAC and other avalanche centers across the U.S. HERE
It's key to head into the early avalanche season with the proper mindset. In this podcast, we talk with UAC program director Bo Torrey. Bo talks about particular risks unique to the early season, tips and tricks for knocking the rust off your early season rescue skills, and charts out the path forward with avalanche education. HERE
EMAIL ADVISORY. If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you subscribe HERE.
Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche observations....HERE. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.
