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 march 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, March 23, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

Announcements:

If you want to test your avalanche beacon skills, come join us for “Beacon and Eggs” at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort on Saturday March 26th. A revised Easter egg hunt with buried avalanche beacons will take place, and searchers finding the buried beacons in the fastest time will win some great prizes! For more information you can go the website or call 1-800-232-9542. 
 
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 winter storm warning is in effect for the region through 6 pm this evening. Snow began falling late last night and so far we’ve received 8”-10” of dense new snow at the upper elevations. Like most of the storms this year, temperatures are quite mild and it’s windy. Currently at the trailheads it’s near 30 degrees and along the ridge tops in the low to mid 20’s. Winds have been generally been out of the south and southwest blowing 15-30 mph for almost 24 hours.

Avalanche Conditions:

The snow is starting to stack up, temperatures are mild, winds are strong enough to transport all the new snow, and today will be a day of rising avalanche danger. Yep, all the ingredients are in place for an active avalanche day and I’d expect avalanches to become more widespread and sensitive as the day wears on. Yesterday my partner and I cautiously stomped around in the wind at the upper elevations and found plenty of snow being blown around. New wind drifts were forming rapidly and were up to 18” in depth by the days end along the leeward side of the high ridgelines. The small avalanches we triggered on safe test slopes were running on facets formed last week. As you probably already know, this type of weakness once buried, tends to be tricky. If you’re getting out today you’ll need to be on your toes, especially if you’re headed into the high country. Today you’ll need to be aware of all the signs of instability such as cracking in the snow as well as collapses and whumphing sounds and you may be able to trigger avalanches from a distance. Get as much information about the slope you want to ride on before diving into it. Tweak lots of small test slopes that are similar in aspect, elevation, and slope angle before committing to a big slope.

Even if you’re playing on low angle terrain today, be aware of both steep slopes above you and other backcountry riders.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE this morning on upper elevation slopes, particularly those facing northwest through east, that are steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible.

The avalanche danger may rise to HIGH later in the day in this type of terrain with more wind and snow. Remember a HIGH avalanche danger means both human triggered and natural avalanches are likely.

At mid elevations the avalanche danger is MODERATE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent wind drifts. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

Mountain Weather:

A cold and moist system is starting to settle in over the region. Today we can expect snow, heavy at times, with additional accumulations in the 10”-14” range. Colder air should arrive later in the day, but until then we can expect high temperatures in the low 30’s at 8,000’ and in the mid 20’s at 10,000’. Overnight lows will be near 20 degrees. Winds will be out of the southwest this morning, switching to the west later in the day and should be blowing 20-30 mph along the ridges. Gusts in the low 50’s are possible in the most exposed locations and there is a chance of lightening when the cold air arrives this afternoon. Tonight we can expect snow showers to continue with another 3”-6” of snow possible. Lingering snow showers are expected on Thursday, and then another colder system is slated to work into the area for Friday giving us a good shot of lighter density snow. For the extended outlook, a break is expected on Saturday and Sunday with another system arriving sometime Monday.

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 Mar.26, 2005.

Thanks for calling!