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 26, 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 26, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

Announcements:

A beacon-training center has been installed at the Nobletts trailhead and “Beacon Basin” up and running!
Many thanks go out to Backcountry Access for supplying all the equipment, Doug Page and all the 
volunteers who provided manpower, Jim Conway who was the brains behind the operation, and the
Kamas and Heber Ranger Districts, along with State Parks and The Utah Snowmobile Association
for their in-kind support. Swing by and check it out before going on the snow. It’s free and within walking 
distance from the parking lot.
 
The Moffit Peak weather station is back in operation. This site was made possible through generous donations
from BRORA and The Utah Snowmobile Association. You can view data by clicking here.

For recent avalanche photos click here.

Current Conditions:

Clouds are starting to move into the area ahead of a series of weak disturbances, which probably won’t give us too much snow, but will at least be strong enough to break the nasty valley inversions. Temperatures along the ridges are in the upper teens and down at the trailheads in the mid 20’s. Winds are out of the west, blowing 5-15 mph along the highest ridges. The riding and turning conditions are starting to get a bit tired, though with a little ingenuity, soft snow can still be found. Getting to it however, may require a kidney belt because the packed trails are about as firm and bumpy as they’ve been all year.

Avalanche Conditions:

It’s been pretty quiet lately on the eastern front and folks have been getting after it, punching some steep, bold lines without incident. With cooler temperatures and more cloud cover on tap for today, I think our wet snow worries on the sunny slopes are behind us, but I’m still not convinced we’re out of the woods on the shady side of the mountain. While you’d be hard pressed to trigger one of the old hard slabs formed by the last big storm, in the right place, on the right slope, and at the right time I bet you could still trigger one of these old monsters. The usual suspects come to mind- upper elevation, steep rocky slopes with weak underlying snow. So if your travels are taking you into this type of terrain, in the back of your mind you should be thinking about avalanches and the consequences of triggering one. I’d be particularly leery of steep slopes that have seen little or no rider compaction yet this year.

Bottom Line:

On most slopes the avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Human triggered avalanches are unlikely and natural avalanches very unlikely.

However, there is still an isolated possibility of triggering a deeper avalanche today on slopes facing northwest through east, especially in areas with a thin, weak snowpack on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees. In this type of terrain the avalanche danger remains MODERATE. A moderate avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are possible and natural avalanches unlikely.

Mountain Weather:

Moisture will increase from the south today giving us mostly cloudy skies and a chance of snow by late afternoon. It’ll feel a little cooler today with highs in the mid 20’s at 10,000’ and mid 30 degrees at 8,000’. Overnight, temperatures will drop into the mid teens as a weak cold front swings through the region. Winds will be out of the southwest at speeds of 10-15 mph even along the highest ridges. Overnight we could see an inch or two of snow and then about the same for Thursday with noticeably colder daytime highs. We remain in this pattern through Saturday.

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. 29, 2005.

Thanks for calling!