THURsday, January 31, 2002 7:30 am Good morning, this is Tom Kimbrough with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Thursday, January 31, 2002, and its 7:30 a.m. Current Conditions: The recent Montana-like temperatures are still with us this morning but there is a little relief on the way. Overnight lows are near zero again and with cloudy skies and some breezes over the ridges, it may feel even colder than yesterday but we could see a little sun this afternoon and high temperatures today should get into the mid teens at 8,000 feet. Winds are about 15 mph from the north at 10,000 feet but on the highest peaks winds are hitting 30 mph. Snow conditions are excellent although some southerly facing slopes have been crusted by the sun despite the frigid temperatures. Avalanche Conditions: I have spent the last couple of days checking out some of the many avalanches that occurred on Monday and Tuesday. Mondays slides were mostly spontaneous releases due to the heavy snowfall and strong winds. Tuesdays activity was from control work with a couple of human triggered slides. Yesterday there were several close calls in the Ogden Mountains in the vicinity of Ben Lomond and James Peak. I dont think any one was actually caught but several people reported triggering slides remotely which then came close to them. North and east facing slopes were the most active but I have seen slides that ran on all aspects. The recent slides are both hard and soft slabs breaking 2-4 feet deep and often several hundred feet wide, fracturing down to weak layers above and below the early January rain crust. Yesterdays avalanche activity in the Ogden Mountains indicates that there is perhaps more instability in that area but also tells me that we need to continue to be quite conservative in all parts of the range. The cold temperatures are probably keeping the slabs and weak layers from stabilizing rapidly. Plus, as we begin to warm up over the next couple of days, the slabs may even become a little easier to trigger. Current avalanche conditions can best be described as tricky and dangerous. The type of weak layer, faceted snow around a crust, is inherently tricky, breaking unexpectedly above you and wider than usual and the instability lasts a long time. The best defense in the these conditions is watching slope angles, keeping them down around 30 degrees and also keeping clear of adjacent steep terrain since slides are being triggered remotely. Practice defensive travel, keeping the group spread out with only one person on a slope at a time. Everyone should have avalanche rescue gear. Problem signs to watch for include shooting cracks, collapsing, or a hollow sounding snow surface, indicating hard slab conditions. Trigger points may include thinner snowpack areas such as near ridgelines, or in rocky areas, where the weight of a person may more easily affect buried weak layers. If there is much sunshine today, heating of the snow surface may become a factor. Avoid travel on or below steep sun exposed slopes if the snow starts getting wet this afternoon. Bottom Line: The chance of very dangerous human triggered avalanches is MODERATE on slopes of 35 degrees and steeper at mid and upper elevations. The danger is greater, probably CONSIDERABLE, in parts of the range such as the Ogden area mountains and possibly the western Uintas as well. (Provo Area Mountains) Same as above. Avalanche conditions are frequently more dangerous in the higher elevations near and above timberline. This type of terrain, generally above about 11,000, is particularly prevalent in the Provo Mountains. If you are heading to the highest peaks and ridges, use extra caution. Mountain Weather: Skies will be mostly cloudy today with a chance of a few light snow flurries. High temperatures will be in the mid teens at 8,000 feet and near 10 at 10,000. Winds will be 15 to 20 mph from the north, shifting to the west tonight. Fridays high temps will probably get into the twenties. Although there a couple of weak disturbances expected to cross northern Utah over the next several days, we can only expect trace amounts of new snow. General Information: The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. I will update this advisory by 7:30 on Friday morning.