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

sunday January 30, 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 Sunday, January 30, 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:

Skies are trying to clear as the weak little weather system that brought us about an inch of new snow moves out of the region. Temperatures along the ridges are in the mid teens and closer to the trailheads it’s near 20 degrees. Winds are light and northerly blowing 10-20 mph along the highest peaks. I’m still surprised at how good the riding and turning conditions are considering there’s only 4”-6” of new snow since Thursday.

Avalanche Conditions:

I’ve been poking and stomping around the past few days, testing the snowpack and trying to figure out where we stand in terms of the older, deeper instabilities. My snow stability tests tell me our recent bout of warm temperatures has helped the snowpack to strengthen, and the lack of any avalanche activity leads me to believe, for the time being anyway, that our deep instabilities have quieted down and are pretty much old news. However, I wouldn’t let my guard down quite yet especially if I was center-punching a big, steep slope. Remember to go one at a time and always have an escape route planned.

So for now we’re back to dealing with new snow avalanches. With winds expected to increase later this morning today’s big concerns are going to be the shallow soft slabs forming along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and these could be up to a foot deep by days end. Down low it’s a completely different story because the snow is damp and manky. On steep mid and lower elevation slopes, it will be possible to trigger shallow wet avalanches. While neither will be particularly deep, there’s always the possibility one could knock you off your feet or machine and slam you into a group of trees and that would definitely ruin your day.

Bottom Line:

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

The avalanche danger will most likely rise to MODERATE on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow, especially as the winds pick up throughout the day. Human triggered avalanche will be possible.

Mountain Weather:

This morning we should see mostly cloudy skies with a scattered flurry or two, but generally skies will be clearing as the day progresses. Temperatures won’t fluctuate much and highs at 10,000’ will be near 20 degrees and at 8,000’ in the mid 20’s. Overnight lows will be in the mid teens. Ridge top winds will be light and out of the north and northeast this morning, but should be increasing later in the day, gusting near 25 mph along the most exposed ridges. High pressure builds for the upcoming week and partly cloudy skies with warm daytime highs, cool overnight lows, and valley inversions are on tap. The computer models are hinting at a pattern change for about this time next week. I’ll get you updated on Wednesdays advisory.

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 Wednesday Feb. 2, 2005.

Thanks for calling!