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 January 12, 2005

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 12, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

Announcements:

We’re experiencing some technical difficulties with the Moffit Peak weather station. Hopefully I’ll have those worked out once the storm cycle ends. Thanks for your patience.

For recent avalanche photos click here.

Current Conditions:

Skies began clearing early this morning and it looks like the storm that has homesteaded over Utah for the past 5 days has exited the state. Temperatures have dropped significantly in a cold northwest flow and currently it’s about 10 degrees along the ridges and in the high teens at the trailheads. Winds have picked up in the past few hours, now blowing out of the northwest at speeds of 20-35 mph along the highest ridges. Most of the region picked up about 4” of new snow overnight and close to a foot in the past 24 hours. While travel off of groomed runs is a complete wallow-fest, if you do get out I guarantee you want be disappointed. It’s over-the-hood! Many old timers can’t remember the last time the snow was this deep and the coverage is pretty amazing.

Avalanche Conditions:

Snow totals for the past 5 days are pretty darn impressive with Trial Lake picking up nearly 50” of snow and a whopping 6” of water. Yesterday while burrowing my way up the Mirror Lake Highway I felt like I was in a scene from the movie “The Shining”. It was an eerie feeling as mountains of new snow have buried the usual landmarks and it is a totally different world the higher you go in elevation. With some breaks in the weather, folks were finally getting to see the carnage that this storm has left in its wake. Natural avalanche activity has been widespread throughout the range from the Daniels area to Bear River. Probably the biggest avalanche I saw was the tree snapper that occurred off the east facing side of Bald Mountain. This crown was about 8’-10’ deep, 400’ wide, and ran close to 1000 vertical feet. The trees tell the tale and this avalanche hadn’t run this far in at least 30 years. As with other monster slides observed, these avalanches are unsurvivable and are outrunning what we normally think of as historic safe places.

If you’re getting out today you should still stay off of and out from under any steep slope. People without well-developed route finding, avalanche, and rescue skills should avoid backcountry travel.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is HIGH today on all steep slopes, especially those recent deposits of wind-drifted snow. Both human triggered and natural avalanches are likely.

Remember; even if you’re playing on low angle terrain be aware of steep slopes above and adjacent to you.

Mountain Weather:

A stable airmass has moved over the region this morning and the storm is just about over. We should see partly cloudy skies, cold temperatures, and strong northwesterly winds. Highs today at 10,000’ will be in the low teens and at 8,000’ near 20 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the single digits. Winds will be out of the west and northwest at speeds of 20-30 mph along the ridges. Partly cloudy skies and cold temperatures, with a few scattered snow showers should remain with us through the weekend. There is a slight chance that a weak weather system will dive into the area late Saturday, but right now there’s not a lot of confidence in the track 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 Jan. 15, 2005.

Thanks for calling!