Forecast for the Ogden Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Sunday morning, February 9, 2020
Areas of MODERATE danger exist at the mid and upper elevations. Human triggered avalanches, while stubborn, may be triggered 1-2' deep in localized terrain.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
Discounted lift tickets - Thanks to the generous support of our Utah ski resorts and Ski Utah, all proceeds from these ticket sales go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education! Get your tickets here.
Looking to improve your avalanche skills? We are offering a Backcountry 101: Introduction to Avalanches class at Powder Mountain February 14-15.
Weather and Snow
It's been a pretty wild week, even by Wasatch standards.
Skies are partly cloudy with moderate northeast winds along the highest ridgelines. Temps are in the single digits and low teens.
Snow surface conditions are a mix of supportable and breakable rain/rime crusts and leave a lot to be desired.
Derek DeBruin has an excellent observation from the Cutler Ridge yesterday HERE. Nichole Dye from Powder Mountain snow safety has a quick video, below.
Recent Avalanches
Avalanche control work at Snowbasin triggered a few stubborn soft slabs with explosives and ski cuts, finding graupel pool slabs at the base of cliffbands and in recently drifted terrain. These avalanches were roughly 12-16" deep.
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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Wind drifts and storm slab avalanches may be triggered in localized terrain, primarily in the mid and upper elevations. The snow structure is generally capped by recent rime and freezing rain. We'll need to keep an eye on this structure to watch for any development of weak faceted snow beneath the crusts that may affect avalanche conditions in the future.
General Announcements
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.