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

saturday february 5, 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 Saturday, February 5, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

 

Announcements:

Last nights fundraiser held at the Snowbird Ski Resort was an amazing success. All proceeds go to help 
the wildly popular “Know Before You Go” avalanche education program. 
Thank you very much for all the support! 
 
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:

A few high clouds began moving into the region late last night as the leading edge of a weak trough is working into the area. A stronger system is on tap for late Sunday. Currently at 11,000’, temperatures are near 16 degrees and it’s in the mid 20’s down along the trailheads. Winds picked up around 7:00 pm last night and have been blowing steadily out of the northwest with hourly averages in the mid teens and gusts in the low 20’s. While it seems like forever since we’ve seen a good shot of new snow, the riding and sliding conditions remain quite good especially at upper elevations on protected shady slopes. You’ll have to get kind of creative though if you’re looking for untracked snow, because most popular slopes have seen a lot of traffic.  

 

Avalanche Conditions: 

For those of you suffering from deep powder withdrawal… help is on the way. A winter storm warning is in effect for the region and snowfall should begin about midday tomorrow. While it’s been relatively quiet on the eastern front for sometime, I’d expect the avalanche danger to be increasing over the next few days. Looking into the future, there’s plenty of weak, recycled powder out there and this will provide a perfect layer for avalanches to fail on once the storm starts kicking in. For the time being though, today’s avalanche concerns are generally limited to the upper elevations where the winds have been busy over night, blowing snow around and forming new wind drifts. The new wind slabs could be up to a foot in depth, though they’ll be pretty much limited to the leeward side of the highest ridges. If you’re getting into steep upper elevation terrain today, a well-placed slope cut would be the ticket in order to avoid any surprises.  

 

Bottom Line:

At low and mid elevations the avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Both human triggered and natural avalanches are unlikely.

In upper elevation terrain, above timberline, there is a MODERATE avalanche danger on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, with recent deposits of wind-drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

 

Mountain Weather:

There is a winter storm watch in effect for Sunday through Monday, but for today we should see increasing clouds and an isolated flurry or two as a weak system skirts by the area. High clouds this morning will gradually thicken throughout the day. Temperatures will be cooling with highs at 10,000’ reaching into the mid 20’s and at 8,000’ near freezing. Overnight lows will be in the upper teens. Winds will be dying down later this morning and switching to the west and southwest, blowing less than 15 mph along the ridges. Sunday should be breezy and colder as a winter storm works into the region. Winds will be out of the west, blowing 15-25 mph by the afternoon, and we could see 3”-8” of new snow by sunset. An unsettled flow should keep the weather active through about Tuesday and I’m thinking we should wind up with a foot or two of new snow by the time this storm winds down.

 

General Information: 

We’re interested in what you’re seeing especially if you see 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 Sunday Feb. 6, 2005.

 

Thanks for calling!