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.

 

 

HOLIDAY 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 Monday, January 19, 2004 and it’s 7:30 a.m.

Backcountry Awareness Week begins on January 19th and runs through the 25th. There are some great events scheduled for the upcoming week and you can read all about it at http://www.backcountryawareness.com/

 

Current conditions:

Clouds began streaming in late last night and it looks like we actually received a trace of new snow overnight. Under overcast skies current 10,000’ temperatures are in the mid teens and winds are out of the northwest at speeds of 10-15 mph with an occasional gust in the mid 20’s at the highest elevations. It’s a mixed bag out there today as far as the snow surface conditions go, though in between all the teeth chattering old tracks, good recrystalized snow can still be found on shady, wind-sheltered slopes.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

There’s just not a whole lot going on in the avalanche world right now as the snowpack is well behaved and pretty much locked in place. In the past few days plenty of slope stability testers have been out and about, getting into some of the steeper terrain throughout the region and I haven’t heard of or seen any new avalanche activity. The biggest concern right now is the continued weakening of the surface snow. While this recrystalized snow is providing good riding and turning conditions at the moment, in its weakened state it won’t be able to withstand much of an additional load the next time a storm rolls in. With some time on our hands in between storms, it might not be a bad idea to start mentally mapping out where this weak snow is most prominent.

 

Bottom Line:

At all elevations the avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Human triggered avalanches are unlikely. Remember low danger doesn’t mean no danger, so if you’re getting into steep, radical terrain today practice your safe travel skills. Only put one person on the slope at a time and carry all the necessary rescue gear such as beacons, shovels, and probes.

 

Mountain Weather:

A weak storm will move through the area this morning and we can expect mostly cloudy skies today with a chance of a flurry or two. Temperatures will be a little cooler with highs at 10,000’ reaching 20 degrees and at 8,000’ near 28 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the mid teens. Winds will be out of the northwest at speeds of 15-25 mph along the upper elevation ridges today and should be switching to the northeast later tonight. This will allow colder air to slide into the region on Tuesday, though little if any snow is associated with this system. High pressure rebuilds midweek and our next best chance of snow will be towards the weekend, but the there are early signs of this storm splitting.

 

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.

I will update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004.

Thanks for calling.