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 19, 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 19, 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, The Utah Snowmobile Association, and the National Weather Service. You can view data by clicking here.

 

For recent avalanche photos click here.

 

Current Conditions:

Light snow began falling early this morning and it looks like we’ve picked up 3” of fairly dense new snow. There’s a pretty decent shot of moisture headed our way and snowfall intensities should increase in the next few hours. It’s been mild overnight with current 8,000’ temperatures in the upper 20’s and 11,000’ temperatures hovering right around 20 degrees. Winds have been steadily increasing from the southwest, blowing 10-25 mph along the ridges. Riding and turning conditions remain quite good on sheltered shady slopes, particularly at mid elevations where the snow is deep and creamy.

 

Avalanche Conditions: 

Today I’d expect the avalanche danger to be on the rise as the first in a series of vigorous storm systems slam into the region. All the components for a slab avalanche are starting to align and the conditions are such that even experienced avalanche people may get tricked. So here’s the setup- the most obvious weakness is between our last two storms. Yesterday I was getting very clean shears at this interface. While this weakness jumps right out at me, remember we also have weak January facets, which are now buried about 2’ deep and all of this rests on a good bed surface. Further more, over the weekend we’ll be loading all of this up with lots of new snow and wind. Another thing to think about is some of the weakest snow out there is in terrain that slid big during the mid January avalanche cycle. As a matter fact, yesterday, in the Weber Canyon area a very experienced backcountry skier was able to trigger an avalanche about 2’ deep and 40’ wide on a steep northeast aspect at 10,300’ in elevation, on a slope that slid during the January cycle.

The avalanche danger will be creeping up on us and avalanches triggered today will have the possibility of stepping into deeper weak layers creating a larger avalanche than you might expect. Today you’ll need to be on your toes and carefully assess changing weather conditions and be on the lookout for obvious signs of instability such as cracking in the snow and “whumphing” sounds.  It’s going to get tricky out there as the storm and the winds start to pile up new snow and often times what separates safe riding from going for a ride is toning your slope angles down.  

 

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE this morning on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, especially those with recent deposits of wind-drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

With more snow and wind forecast for today, the avalanche danger will be rising to CONSIDERABLE as the day progresses. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanche are probable and natural avalanches possible.

In wind-sheltered terrain on slopes less steep than about 35 degrees the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

 

Mountain Weather:

A snow advisory is in effect for the western Uinta Mountains until 5 a.m. Sunday morning. For today, we can expect snow throughout the morning hours with accumulations in the 4”-8” range. It should turn more showery late in the day, but another 3”-6” is expected overnight. Winds will be strong this morning from the south and southwest blowing 20-30 mph with higher gusts along the ridges before tapering off and becoming more westerly late this afternoon. High temperatures at 8,000’ will be near 30 degrees and at 10,000’ in the low 20’s. Overnight lows will be in the low 20’s. Another round of snow is expected Sunday with a brief break Sunday night and Monday, then another system slides into the region for a repeat performance. I’ll update you as to the storm particulars on Sunday mornings advisory.

 

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. 20, 2005.

 

Thanks for calling!