In partnership with:
Tri-City Performance, Polaris, the
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated
Good Morning! This is Craig
Gordon with the
This
advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to
Current Conditions:
The first in a series of storms moved in over the
region late yesterday afternoon, spreading clouds and a flurry or two. Today we
should see a better chance for snow developing as the day wares on. West and
southwesterly winds increased around
Avalanche Conditions:
I’m psyched to say that
no avalanche accidents occurred in the western Uinta’s yesterday and I know it
took a lot of restraint not to dive into steep terrain, especially with fresh
snow and abundant sunshine. While things are settling down since last weeks
natural avalanche cycle, the basic fact remains we have a buried weak layer in
the mid portion of our snowpack and it’ll come back to haunt us each time it’s
tickled. We’re nudging into a critical time in the snow’s stability and one
that often lulls people into a false sense of security. As the snow gains
strength it will become harder to trigger avalanches, but the ones you do trigger
may be large and deadly. Remember- a hard dense slab overlaying persistent
buried weak layers like the sugary facets formed during the January dry spell is
a notoriously tricky and dangerous combination. The slab will feel strong and
solid underneath all the fluffy new snow, allowing a rider to get well out onto
the slope before it avalanches. The snowpack doesn’t know we’ve been powder starved
this winter and the best bet to avoid triggering a monster slide is to tone
your slope angles down and stay off of and out from under steep slopes for awhile.
In addition, today’s winds won’t help matters much and shallow avalanches
initiated in the new wind drifts have the possibility of breaking into deeper
buried weak layers as they cascade down the slope. Finally, cornices have grown
and are breaking back further than you might expect.
Bottom Line:
At upper elevations the avalanche danger is
CONSIDERABLE on all slopes steeper than about 35 degrees,
especially those facing the north half of the compass with both old and recent
deposits of wind drifted snow. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered
avalanches are probable, natural avalanches possible.
At mid elevations the avalanche danger is MODERATE on northerly
facing slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with both old and recent wind
drifts and human triggered avalanches are possible.
Mountain Weather:
An increasingly moist westerly flow will move over the region this
morning and snow will develop in the next couple of hours. Snow should persist
throughout the day with accumulations in the 6”-10” range, before tapering off
late this evening. As the storm noses into the area, winds will become
stronger, blowing out of the west-southwest gusting to 40 mph along the ridges.
Temperatures will remain cool today with highs at 8,000’ in the mid 20’s and at
10,000’ in the upper teens. Overnight lows will be near 15 degrees. Monday
should be mostly cloudy and warmer with a chance of a scattered snow shower or
two. High pressure builds for late Monday and Tuesday, then a cold unsettled
pattern develops late Tuesday through Friday. I’ll have a better handle on
timing and strength of these systems on Wednesday’s mid week update.
Announcements:
I completed a
preliminary investigation on the avalanche accident that occurred on Saturday
Feb.17th in
We finally got the
I’d like to thank Jim Shea, The Canyons and Colleen
Graham from the Friends of the UAC for all their hard work in making the Know Before You Go fundraiser such a success!
The first annual western Uinta fundraising ride was
an amazing success with nearly 150 people showing up for the ride alone!
I want to thank the Jim Shea Family Foundation,
Rocky Mountain Sledders, the Wasatch Snowmobile Association and the Utah
Snowmobile Association for all their tireless work in putting the event
together. Thanks again to Team Thunderstruck and the Boondockers
crew for helping out and schooling even the most experienced riders. Also, we
couldn’t have pulled it off if it weren’t for Chad Booth who did an incredible
job as both master of ceremonies and auctioneer. Finally, it wouldn’t have been
possible without the support of everyone who attended… you folks are
awesome!
I want to thank the crew at Tri-City Performance in
Springville along with Polaris and the Utah Snowmobile Association for
partnering with the avalanche center and stepping up to the plate by providing
a new sled for this season! Click
here, to
see the new
ride!
We installed Beacon Basin at the Noblett’s
Trailhead and it’s good to go. I want to thank Doug, Bill, Jared, Brad and
Wally who
unselfishly took time out of their powder day to
help out the riding community… you guys rock!
Free avalanche awareness classes are available. Give
me a call at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]
and get one scheduled before the season gets too crazy!
If any terms confuse you, take a look at our new avalanche encyclopedia.
For
avalanche photos click here.
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’ll update this advisory by
This advisory is also available by calling
1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.