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 march 6, 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, March 6, 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:

A northerly flow has developed over the area keeping things quiet along the eastern front. Skies are clear, temperatures are in the upper teens to low 20’s, and winds are generally out of the north at speeds of 10-20 mph along the ridges. With high pressure in place and easy travel conditions, it’s a great time to go exploring and bag a few peaks you’ve been eyeing all year. There is still some soft settled powder to be found, but you’ll have to get pretty creative because nearly every inch of the more popular riding areas have seen a lot of traffic. On the south facing slopes, a good melt freeze cycle is under way and the corn is ripe for harvesting.

 

Avalanche Conditions: 

The snowpack is mostly stable and rather well behaved. The only new activity I heard of comes from a trusty observer out of Weber Canyon who reported a human triggered avalanche on a very steep east-facing slope at about 10,000’.  This soft slab was close to 15’ wide and 10” deep and occurred on a 41-degree slope. These rogue little slabs aren’t big enough to bury anyone, but they could surprise you and knock you into some trees or carry you over a cliff if you happened to be in the wrong place. If you’re doing some exploring today and starting to get into more obscure terrain or areas you’ve never been before, take a moment and get a handle on the snowpack before diving into some radical bowl or chute.  

Also, the sun is getting awfully strong this time of year so when the slope you’re riding on starts to get wet and sloppy, it’s time to move to a cooler aspect. As the day heats up you’ll want to get off of and out from under steep sun exposed slopes.

 

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is generally LOW today on most slopes and human triggered avalanches are unlikely.

On sun-exposed slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, the danger of wet avalanches may rise to MODERATE with daytime heating and human triggered avalanches will be possible.

 

Mountain Weather:

The weather department looks rather dull, as a ridge of high pressure becomes the dominant feature of our weather pattern. Clear skies and warm temperatures are on tap for the upcoming week. Highs today at 10,000’ will be near freezing and at 8,000’ in the low 40’s. Overnight lows will dip into the low 20’s. Ridgetop winds will be out of the north blowing 10-20 mph today and should become stronger on Monday and Tuesday. The computer models are hinting at a change in the weather to a stormier pattern in about a week.

 

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 Wednesday Mar. 9, 2005.

 

Thanks for calling!