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 december 10, 2005

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am sunday December 11, 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, December 10, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m. Avalanche advisories for the western Uintas are available on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and all holidays.

This advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to Mirror Lake, to the North Slope of the western Uinta Mountains. That’s a lot of turf and I can’t be in all of these places at once. Your snow and avalanche observations are critical to this program and help to save other riders lives by getting accurate information out to the public. I’m interested in what you’re seeing especially if you see or trigger an avalanche. Please call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected] and fill us in with all the details. 

 

Announcements:

I’ll be giving a free avalanche awareness talk designed specifically for snowmobilers on Wednesday December 14th at 6:30 pm at Mountain High Motorsports on 8262 S Redwood Rd, West Jordan.
 
The Moffit Peak weather station is back in operation. This site was made possible through generous donations
by BRORA, The Utah Snowmobile Association, and the National Weather Service. You can view data by clicking here.

For avalanche photos click here.

 

We’re looking for feedback on our new advisory page. Click here to check out the new “MOCK UP”. I’d like to hear what you think and you can email me at [email protected] with comments and suggestions.

 

Current Conditions:

A warming airmass and mostly dry weather should make for a spectacular day. Over the past few days we’ve climbed out of the deep freeze and temperatures have become more tolerable. Currently it’s in the low 20’s at the trailheads and in the upper teens at 11,000’. Winds are out of the east and northeast blowing 15-20 mph along the highest ridges. No new snow has fallen in the past 24 hours, but there’s still plenty of good riding and turning out there, though south facing slopes have probably developed a bit of a crust.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

It’s quieted down somewhat since the storm earlier in the week and I haven’t heard of or seen any new avalanche activity for several days. In addition to snow stability tests indicating an overall strengthening of the snowpack, yesterday there were plenty of slope testers getting into steeper terrain without incident. Today you’ll want to think about two avalanche concerns. First, gusty winds out of the northeast and east have been blowing along the ridges for about the past 24 hours. I’d expect sensitive wind drifts would’ve formed in unusual locations and they may be big enough to knock you off your machine or skis. Secondly, while I think the snowpack is on the road to recovery, triggering a deeper avalanche into weaker snow near the ground isn’t out of the question, especially in steep, shady upper elevation terrain.  If you want to play it safe, steer clear of steep, rocky slopes with a thin, shallow snowpack.

If you’re getting into steep terrain today don’t get complacent with your safe travel routine. Only put one person on the slope at a time, get into a safe location at the bottom of the slope, and always keep an eye on your partner.

 

Bottom Line:

In upper elevation terrain at and above tree line the avalanche danger is MODERATE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, especially those with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. A MODERATE danger means human triggered avalanche are possible.  A remote possibility exists for avalanches triggered today to break into deeper, buried weak layers in the snowpack, producing a larger slide than you might think.

The avalanche danger is generally LOW in wind sheltered terrain and on slopes less steep than 35 degrees.

 

Mountain Weather: 

Sunny and dry weather is on tap through the weekend with warming temperatures expected. Highs today at 8,000’ will be near 30 degrees and at 10,000’ in the low to mid 20’s. Overnight lows should dip into the mid teens. Winds will be northerly blowing 15-25 mph along the highest ridges. Expect sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures for Sunday with highs reaching into the mid 30’s. Increasing clouds late Monday will usher in a weak weather system mid week. There are no big storms in sight.

 

General Information: 

If you haven’t taken one of our free snowmobile specific avalanche awareness classes, schedule one now before things get too crazy. Give me a call at 801-231-2170 and I’d be happy to tailor a talk for your group. Also, once there’s enough snow, I’ll have the “Beacon Basin” training site up and running again this year at the Nobletts trailhead.   

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’ll update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Sunday December 11, 2005.

 

Thanks for calling!