A MODERATE avalanche danger exists in the mid and upper elevations. You can trigger shallow slabs of wind drifted snow and any new snow avalanche has the capacity to step down into older weaker layers on the north side of the compass.
You can trigger shallow lingering and new soft slabs of wind drifted snow today. These may be up to 6-10" thick and primarily in the upper elevation bands. They will be more spotty and pockety in the mid-elevations.
Poor structure exists on the north side of the compass with weak sugary faceted snow buried 1-2' down. This layering is responsible for four avalanche fatalities the last two weeks and needs to be treated with caution. While likelihood has diminished, uncertainty has increased: when, where, and how might you trigger one of these monsters today?
The Caribou Basin final accident report was published last night. Now all four final accident reports (Caribou Basin, Butler Basin, Lake Mary Chutes, and Ant Knolls) have been published. You can find them all HERE>
Drone footage of the Caribou avalanche after avalanche control work had been conducted to reduce the risk to the SAR teams.
Thank you to everyone involved for sharing information. As with all avalanche accidents, we hope to learn something to prevent future accidents. Our deepest heartfelt condolences go out to the families, friends, rescuers, and everyone affected by these tragic accidents.
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The storm has favored the Cottonwoods and Ogden and Provo area mountains. The Provo area mountains picked up just 1-3" (0.30" SWE) of new snow, with higher amounts in upper Dry Fork of AF. Temps are in the mid to upper 20s; winds are light to moderate from the northwest. Snow depths remain fairly meager - just 1-3' of snow on the ground and a bit more along the highest elevations. While it's only a couple inches, I do think that conditions will be vastly improved over the old rough and rugged crusts..and best on low angle terrain.
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.
