Salt Lake

While most terrain has an overall LOW avalanche danger, isolated pockets of MODERATE DANGER exist for human triggered avalanches 2-4' deep into old snow layering. Heightened areas of concern include steep, thin, rocky terrain on northwest to easterly facing slopes. Collapsing and cracking may or may not be present to warn you of unstable avalanche conditions. Watch for any new wind slab development with today's increasing southerly winds.

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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.

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Check out the new free online avalanche course series developed by the Utah Avalanche Center. This is a great way to refresh your skills or prepare you for a Backcountry 101 or Level 1 class.

Mark and Andrew found full propagation with snow tests on Argenta (Kessler Peak) in BCC yesterday and then immediately collapsed the snowpack and ripped a shooting crack (pic below) across the low angle slope. As if to confirm what they already knew. This from a north-northwest slope at 9000'. An outlier, but a reminder why we continue to assess each slope with an open mind and/or some suspicion. Other pros found full propagation in snow pits along the Brighton perimeter, but this seems less the norm as days wear on.

Splitter is a dirty word in this business. A Pacific storm system is splitting as it moves through and while our friends to the north and south pick up some snow, we'll be left holding the bag. At least we'll see a bump in winds. Currently, skies are partly cloudy with inverted temperatures in the mountains. Ridgeline temps are in the mid to upper 20s while the trailheads and basins are in the low 20s. Winds backed to the south and southeast overnight and are blowing 15-20mph with gusts to 30. We'll see increasing clouds and perhaps a trace or two by the afternoon. Soft settled powder exists in the mid-elevation glades, but sun and wind crusts dominate most of the landscape. Enjoy.

Check out the Weekly Review by Greg Gagne for a round up of weather and avalanche activity.

It's rare to see good decision-making in the news. On December 10th, pro observer Mark White, skinning up the famed Bonkers run in Broads Fork of BCC, bailed and turned around because he encountered snow structure that he didn't trust. (Observation) Live to ski another day. Right? But...the story doesn't end there. Three or four days later, a large avalanche came down, obliterating his tracks. (Observation) Was this a near-miss? A wise decision? Why or why not? I consider Mark White a friend and I am not unbiased. I appreciate his thought and consideration and ability to turn around in a situation where decisions have consequences. I also appreciate the communication and openness of the backcountry community to have these conversations. Talk about this on the drive up to the trailhead on while on the skintrack today. There's more here than meets the eye. Click on the photo to see before/after photos.

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You don’t often get confirmation on your decisions in the mountains, but this time I did. First photo is the Bonkers avalanche that pulled out 2 days after I was there 2nd photo. I wanna thank @aaronkennard for talking to me about what he saw, sounds like most of my tracks and a good part of my skin trail was covered by the avalanche that pulled out naturally with 6 to 8 inches of new snow and some wind. It pulled out with a 4 foot crown on the upper steep NE. I bailed 2/3 of the way up because I didn’t like the snow pack structure, I was solo and I didn’t trust the steep NE over my head. #sometimesyougetitright #trustyourinstincts #nothingwrongwithbailing #utavy

A post shared by Mark (@spindrift65) on Dec 16, 2018 at 11:20am PST