Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.

Avalanche ADVISORY

Good morning. This is Craig Gordon with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the western Uinta Mountains. Today is Wednesday, January 14, 2004 and it’s 7:30 a.m.

Current conditions:

It’s a great day to get out of the valley gunk, cause up in the mountains the skies are clear, temperatures are warm, and snow conditions remain quite good. Currently under clear skies it’s in the mid 20’s at 10,000’, winds are light, generally out of the north at speeds of 5-10 mph along the ridges. Snow surface conditions fluctuate with elevation and aspect. At the upper elevations the winds have created some challenging crusts and down low the heat and sun have had their way. However, at mid elevations, good recrystalized powder riding and turning conditions can still be found on protected north facing aspects. There may also be some early corn out there for the harvest and the best bet would be mid or low elevation, southerly facing slopes.

Avalanche Conditions:

Our high and dry weather is a bit of a double-edged sword as far as the snowpack sees it. The good news is the wind slabs formed last week are tired and relaxed and not all that sensitive to the weight of a backcountry enthusiast. Also the warm daytime temperatures are helping to heal some of our deeper instabilities especially where the snowpack is thick.

The bad news is the clear, cold nights are starting to deteriorate the strength of the surface snow and the near surface facets that are forming won’t be able to withstand much of an additional load when the next round of storminess rolls in. In addition, in areas where the snowpack remains shallow, the clear weather has reduced much of the strength of the snow near the ground as well. While not widespread, in steep rocky upper elevation terrain that has a shallow weak underlying snowpack, the possibility still exists to trigger a deep, hard slab avalanche. It’s going to require a pretty good thump however, such as the weight of several snowmobiles on a steep slope at the same time or a large cornice drop.

Bottom Line:

At low and mid elevations on slopes less than 35 degrees in steepeness the avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Human triggered avalanches are unlikely.

On steep sun exposed slopes at all elevations the avalanche danger is LOW this morning, but will rise to MODERATE with daytime heating.

At and above timberline the avalanche danger is MODERATE today on slopes approaching 40 degrees in steepness. Human triggered avalanches are possible. While isolated in nature, be aware the possibility still exists of triggering a deep and dangerous hard slab avalanche especially in steep, upper elevation, rocky terrain, with a weak, shallow snowpack.

Mountain Weather:

High pressure remains firmly entrenched over the region, virtually shutting down any possibility of storminess for the near future. Today we can expect clear skies, continued warm temperatures, and light winds. Highs today at 10,000’ will be in the mid 30’s and at 8,000’ in the low to mid 40’s. Overnight lows will be near 20 degrees. Winds will be light and variable blowing at speeds of 5-10 mph along the ridges. A weak system will move into the area on Thursday and Friday helping temperatures to cool a bit and we may see a flake or two as well. The weekend should be partly cloudy and looking into the future, the computer models indicate a change in the weather pattern beginning next week.

General Information:

We can always use snow and avalanche information and your snowpack and avalanche observations could help to save someone’s life. If you see or trigger an avalanche give us a call at 801-231-2170 or 1-800-662-4140.

Also, if you’d like to schedule a free avalanche awareness talk and/or field day give us a call at 801-524-5304.

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.

This advisory will be updated by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004.

Thanks for calling.