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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Friday morning, January 4, 2019
Today's avalanche danger is generally LOW. Minor wet and dry sluffs are possible on steep slopes. Remember that risk is inherent in mountain travel - even a small sluff can be significant in radical, no-fall terrain.
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Weather and Snow
Greg's excellent - as usual - Week in Review can be found here on our blog page.
Skies are clear.
Mountain temperatures are in the upper 20s to low 30s with basins and trailheads in the teens.
West to southwest winds blow 10-15mph with gusts to 20.
It's easy to avoid the wind and sun damage by heading to the sheltered shady slopes. There, skiing and riding conditions remain excellent where surface faceting and the glittery diamonds of surface hoar abound.
As they say, "Today's snow surface is tomorrow's buried weak layer." Let's see how well this loose and weak surface snow is preserved prior to Saturday night's storm system. If well preserved, there's gonna be trouble. Stay tuned.
Recent Avalanches
Minor wet loose avalanche activity was reported in the steepest, south-facing terrain above Little Cottonwood Canyon. Ski area control teams also found a couple rogue wind slabs with explosives while opening new terrain.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Normal caution is warranted if in steep sun-drenched terrain well after the snow surface has thawed and become unconsolidated. Minor loose wet and - on the northerly aspects - loose dry sluffs may be expected.
The last avalanches breaking into older snow layering likely occurred New Year's Eve during the wind event. These were in upper Hogum Fork of LCC on upper elevation northeasterly facing slopes that I would call extreme "non-skiable, non-rideable" terrain. (But I've been surprised by terrain choices before.) The Airplane Peak avalanches (roughly 2.5' deep and 80' wide were in thin, rocky areas that have likely avalanched previously this season. Not unlike, say, the northeast face of Lone Peak, the Salt Lake Twins....you get the idea.
Additional Information
The forecasts have a decent storm system slated for Saturday night into Monday. At this stage of the game, I'd count on at least of a foot of snow with moderate to strong westerly winds. The avalanche danger will rise accordingly.
For today, we'll have mostly sunny skies, light to moderate southwest winds, and mountain temps into the mid-30s to low 40s. Enjoy -
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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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