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

Friday November 26,2004

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 Friday, November 25, 2004 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

Announcements:

We have installed a weather station in the Moffit Peak area. Click here to see temperatures and wind data.

Many thanks go out to the Utah Snowmobile Association for their generous contributions.

Current conditions:

Last nights fast moving storm deposited nearly 6” of new snow, with the North Slope picking up the bulk of the moisture. Skies are mostly cloudy and light snow showers are still falling. Ridge top temperatures are in the mid teens and winds are out of the northwest blowing at speeds of 10-20 mph along the upper elevation ridges. The new snow will vastly improve the riding and turning conditions, but be aware there is still plenty of natural obstacles barley hidden under this veil of new snow.

Avalanche Conditions:

If your just waking up and recovering from an overdose of tryptophan- you know the stuff that makes us really sleepy when we eat a lot of turkey- well it’s time to get after it because for the first time in weeks it has snowed. However, before jumping into your favorite powder shot here’s some things to consider. There’s plenty of light density powder out there to blow around and last nights winds will have formed sensitive wind drifts along the leeward sides of upper elevation ridges. Remember, this snow has fallen on very weak facets that developed during the dry spell the past few weeks. While most of today’s avalanche activity will be fairly manageable, be aware of thicker, more stubborn slabs that would have formed at the higher elevations. These pockets of harder slab, may allow you to get a little further out onto the slope before they fail. With all the obstacles still out there a ride in an avalanche could easily result in a season ending injury.

If your planning to get out on the snow in the next few days make sure you have all the necessary avalanche safety equipment. You need to have avalanche beacons, shovels, and probes and you need to know how to use them. In addition if you’re nosing into steep avalanche terrain practice your safe travel techniques. Only expose one person to danger, keep an eye on your partner, and get out of the way and into a safe location at the bottom of the slope.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE today on all slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow and human triggered avalanche are possible.

While not widespread, be aware that there are pockets of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger, especially above tree line, on steep, wind-loaded slopes. Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible in this type of terrain.

In wind sheltered terrain the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

Mountain Weather:

We should scattered morning snow showers then a break around midday as the storm rapidly makes its way east of the region. Additional snow accumulations will be in the 1”-2” range. High temperatures at 8,000’ will be in the upper 20’s and at 10,000’ in the mid teens. Overnight lows will be near 10 degrees. Winds will be out of northwest at speeds of 15-25 mph along the ridgelines, decreasing throughout the day. Another storm system will slide into the region late tonight and should bring a decent shot of snow our way over the weekend. Snowfall should begin to develop early on Saturday and looks like we could get an additional 6”-10” out of this storm.

General Information:

We’re interested in what you’re seeing especially if you observe or trigger an avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected] or fax to 801-524-6301 and fill us in with all the details.

If you’d like to schedule a free snowmobile specific avalanche talk and or a field day, please call 801-231-2170.

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 Saturday Nov.27, 2004.

Thanks for calling!