Westerly winds will continue to drift snow at the mid and upper elevations. Although most drifts will be found on leeward aspects facing north through southeast, cross-loading and the winds being channeled through terrain mean drifts may be possible on any aspect at the mid and upper elevations. These drifts will generally be 6-12" thick, and may break out widely in open, exposed terrain, possibly breaking above you.

Cornices are quite large along upper elevation ridgelines - avoid traveling anywhere near the edge of ridges as cornices may break back much further than expected. Click to view this photo from Nathan Chaszeyka which illustrates how cornices have formed on both sides of an upper elevation ridgeline in the Salt Lake mountains.)

Assessing the snowpack in the Provo area mountains in avalanche terrain at mid and upper elevations on NW, N, NE, E aspects (and upper elevation SE) is difficult. Recent natural avalanches have broken at the ground in the Provo mountains, and control work on Sunday at a Cottonwood resort in the Salt Lake mountains produced a slide breaking down 3-4' deep in facets at the ground . Although it is hard to assess the likelihood of triggering one of these avalanches, the consequences of getting involved in one is likely deadly. The only mitigation strategy we have is to avoid avalanche terrain for now.

Photo: Zoomed in view of the natural avalanche that was spotted earlier this week.