PARK CITY, Utah — The Utah Avalanche Center upgraded its avalanche watch to a warning Wednesday. This is the most severe alert level available, citing unusually dangerous conditions across the Wasatch Range.
The UAC reports that mitigation teams on the PC Ridgeline triggered a D2.5 avalanche, large enough to damage a vehicle, using explosives. The slide ran 300 feet wide, releasing as a wind slab into weak, old snow on a north aspect at 9,100 feet.
Avalanche danger is forecast to rise to HIGH on mid- and upper-elevation slopes facing E-N-NW through the day. Avalanches can be triggered more than three feet deep on a buried persistent weak layer, can break hundreds of feet wide and can release remotely. The UAC recommends avoiding all avalanche terrain, staying on slopes below 30 degrees and remaining well clear of anything connected to steeper terrain.…