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

WEDNESday DECEMber 1,2004

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 Wednesday, December 1, 2004 and it’s 7:30 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:

It’s frosty out there this morning. Temperatures at 8,000’ are just climbing out of the single digits and at 11,000’ it’s near zero. Northwesterly winds are blowing at speeds of 10-15 mph along the highest ridges. The riding and turning conditions are stiff and variable up high, but on sheltered shady slopes the snow remains cold and light. While the coverage is vastly improving with each storm, remember there are still plenty of natural obstacles barely hidden and the snowpack is relatively thin.

Avalanche Conditions:

The weekend storm produced a widespread, natural avalanche cycle throughout the range. While many slopes have avalanched naturally, there are plenty of slopes that haven’t and are waiting for a trigger to arrive and tip the balance. So today’s avalanche conditions will be twofold; slopes that did avalanche already and those that have not avalanched yet.

First off, slopes that did slide throughout the storm cycle are now filled back in by the strong and variable winds that blew over the weekend. The slopes that avalanched during the storm are hard to detect but look for debris or maybe you can pick out an old crown. The biggest concern with these slopes is the new wind drifts that were created in the past few days. These slabs will have a hollow, drum-like sound to them and they’ve formed on virtually every aspect.

The next concern is the slopes that haven’t avalanched yet. Keep in mind the weekend snow fell on weak surface facets and surface hoar. These types of instabilities are notoriously tricky. Often times you can get well out onto the slope before it fails. An avalanche today may step down into deeper buried weak layers, producing a dangerous and scary avalanche. If you’re getting into steep terrain, you’ll need to take a few minutes and carefully assess each slope. The best way to avoid avalanches today is to keep your slope angles toned down.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE today on all slopes that have recently slid and are steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

On steep slopes that haven’t slid yet the avalanche danger is “SCARY” MODERATE. Human triggered avalanches are possible and once triggered avalanches will be wide, deep, and dangerous.

Mountain Weather:

Clouds will be around for most of the day and we may see a flurry or two as a weak trough moves through northern Utah. Winds will be out of the northwest at speeds of 5-15 mph along the ridges. High temperatures at 10,000’ will be in the low teens and at 8,000’ near 20 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the single digits. A ridge will return on Thursday and we should see clear skies and slowly warming temperatures. Clear skies will prevail through the weekend. The next shot of snow looks like it will arrive late in the weekend, but right now has all the signs of splitting.

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 Dec.4, 2004.

Thanks for calling!