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 April 3, 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, April 3, 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:

Clouds moved into the region late yesterday afternoon and under a veil of thin clouds overnight, temperatures barely got below freezing even at the upper elevations. Currently at most of the trailheads temperatures are near 33 degrees and at the ridge tops it’s in the upper 20’s. The winds will make it feel a bit cooler and they’re blowing out of the west and southwest, in the 15-25 mph range with stronger gusts at the most exposed locations. Last night’s cloud cover coupled with balmy overnight lows has left all but the highest elevation snow damp or crusty. The good news is a new coat of mountain paint is on the way!

Avalanche Conditions:

It’s starting to get tricky out there again and with the lack of a good cold night I’m becoming worried about the possibility of large wet avalanches. While I haven’t heard of much activity in the western Uinta’s, our neighbors, the Wasatch have had plenty of big, nasty wet avalanches in the past 24 hours. Granted they did receive more new snow out of the last storm, but in general we tend to have a weaker snowpack. So with all of that in mind, if you’re still a die-hard rider and you’re getting out today you’ll need to pay close attention to what the weather’s doing. It’s going to be a balancing act and the avalanche activity will depend on cloud cover or lack there of, wind, and temperatures. All of these factors could conspire to make the avalanche activity a bit livelier than you might expect. The best bet this time of year is to get on the snow early and when the snow begins to get damp and sloppy, move to a cooler aspect or just head for the barn. As the day heats up you’ll want to get off of and out from under any steep sun-exposed slope. Remember that the strong April sun is penetrating onto just about every slope out there, so even steep mid and lower elevation north facing slopes are getting baked.

Finally, at the upper elevations above tree line where the snow is still cold, there may still be an old wind slab or two that would be sensitive to your additional weight. You’d most likely find these slabs on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges on slopes that face northwest through east.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is MODERATE today on all steep sun exposed slopes and human triggered avalanches are possible. Should cloud cover not be as thick or temperatures warm more than forecast, the danger may rise to CONSIDERABLE with daytime heating, meaning human triggered avalanches will be probable and natural avalanches possible.

At upper elevations, above timberline on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees there is still a slight prospect of triggering a dry snow slab and the avalanche danger is MODERATE. Human triggered avalanches are possible today.

Mountain Weather:

A good-looking cold storm is headed our way for Monday, but in the mean time we’re between an upper ridge to our east and an approaching Pacific system to the west. What this means for us is a partly to mostly cloudy, warm and windy day. Highs at 8,000’ will be in the low 50’s and at 10,000’ near 40 degrees. Overnight lows will be near freezing. Winds will by out of the southwest blowing 20-30 mph with strong gusts along the upper elevation ridges, especially late in the day. A strong cold front is expected to arrive Monday morning and winds will shift to the northwest. A good shot of snow should begin in the early morning hours and continue through about sunset. I’m thinking we may wind up with about a foot of snow by early Tuesday. A ridge returns on Wednesday and Thursday with significantly warmer temperatures…. springtime in Utah.

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 Apr.6, 2005.

Thanks for calling!