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 february 23, 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, February 23, 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:

Skies are clear, winds are light and variable, and temperatures are in the mid teens. The riding and turning conditions are quite good and the weekend storm snow has settled out to about 10” in depth, making for easy travel. The sunny aspects have developed a crust, so you’ll need to stick to the north facing slopes if you’re in search for anything but breakable crust.

 

Avalanche Conditions: 

The weekend storm snow has settled out nicely and all of the recent avalanche activity I’ve heard about was confined to the new snow. Shallow soft slabs on steep upper elevation slopes seem to be the common theme and most of these slabs were pockety and anywhere from 40’-100’ wide and up to 2’ deep. Today you’ll still need to be cautious on steep, shady slopes, especially at the upper elevations. I think you could still easily trigger a decent sized slab that has the potential of taking you for a fast and possibly body-bruising ride. Getting slammed into a group of trees or buried in a gully would definitely ruin your day. In addition, as the day heats up you’ll want to avoid steep sun exposed slopes. Remember, the sun is getting high in the sky these days and it’s starting to penetrate into north facing slopes at mid and low elevations.    

 

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees and human triggered avalanches are possible.

On slopes less steep than about 35 degrees the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

 

Mountain Weather:

The big low pressure system that’s been pounding California will be too far south to have a big impact on our weather, so for us, skies will be partly cloudy with a slight chance of a snow shower or two over the next few days. Temperatures will be cool with highs at 10,000’ in the low to mid 20’s and at 8,000’ near freezing. Overnight lows will be in the upper teens. Winds will be out of the southeast, blowing less than 15 mph along the ridges. A slight warming trend will develop through the rest of the week and a little storm may clip the region on Saturday or Sunday.

 

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 Saturday Feb. 26, 2005.

 

Thanks for calling!