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 15, 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 15, 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 and BRORA for their generous contributions.

Current Conditions:

Clouds started to stream in last night as a very weak cold front moved through the region. Temperatures are about 10 degrees colder than yesterday at this time. Currently it is 15 degrees at 11,000’ and at 8,000’ it’s in the low 20’s. Winds are out of the northwest at speeds of 10-20 mph along the highest ridges. No new snow has fallen in the past 24 hours and the riding and turning conditions are less than ideal. On the sunny slopes there are a variety of humbling crusts and up high there’s a lot of wind damage. Sheltered, shady slopes will be the best bet for finding any soft snow.

Avalanche Conditions:

The wild weekend avalanche cycle was one of the most widespread we have seen in the western Uintas in some time. Since the turning and riding conditions aren’t the best, it might be a good day to get out and look at the carnage first hand rather than just hearing me talk about it all the time. I’ll be posting more photos this afternoon. For now the avalanche activity seems to be quieting down and yesterday was the first day since the beginning of the storm that I didn’t see or hear of any new avalanches. That’s usually a good sign and I think today’s colder temperatures will help to lock the snowpack in place. However, there are still places where you could trigger an avalanche today, particularly on slopes that haven’t avalanched yet. Remember all this new snow fell on weak surface snow formed during the November dry spell. These faceted layers are slow to strengthen and instabilities such as these tend to linger for long periods of time. What makes this tricky is that as the slab gains strength it will allow you to get further out onto the slope before it avalanches. The most likely place to trigger a slide today will be on steep slopes that face the north half of the compass. If you trigger an avalanche today, it’s going to be big, scary, dangerous, and could have devastating consequences. I think you get the picture.

Watching your slope angles and paying attention to signs of instability are key components to staying alive. You’ll need to practice your safe travel techniques as well. Only put one person at a time on the slope, keep an eye on your partner, have an escape route planned, and get out of the way and into a safe location at the bottom of the slope.

Finally, carry an avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe and know how to use them. Remember, you are the rescue team.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is “SCARY” MODERATE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, particularly those that haven’t avalanched yet, which face northwest through east. “Scary” moderate means that human triggered avalanches are possible and if you trigger an avalanche today it will be deep, dangerous, and quite possibly deadly.

On slopes less steep than about 35 degrees the avalanche danger is generally LOW. Remember; even if you’re playing on low angle terrain be aware of steep slopes above and adjacent to you.

Mountain Weather:

Today we should see cloudy skies, cooler temperatures, and a chance for some light snow. Accumulations will pale in comparison to recent storms with maybe 2” expected out of this system. Winds will be out of the north and northwest blowing in the 15-25 mph range along the highest ridges. High temperatures at 8,000 will be in the upper 20’s and at 10,000’ near 22 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the mid teens. High pressure should quickly rebound for Thursday through this weekend. There are really no storms in sight.

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. 18, 2004.

Thanks for calling!