Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah State Parks,

Tri-City Performance, Polaris, the Utah Snowmobile Association, the National Weather Service, BRORA, and Backcountry Access.

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Avalanche advisory

wednesdAY february 1, 2006

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am saturday february 4, 2006 or sooner if conditions warrant.

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 1, 2006 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:

In conjunction with Backcountry Awareness Week, January 30th through February 5th, the second annual “Know Before You 
Go” avalanche education fund raising dinner will be held at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort this Friday Feb. 3rd at 6:00 pm. 
Guest speakers include Conrad Anker and Apa Sherpa, both seasoned Mt. Everest climbers. Tickets are going fast, but 

you can reserve a seat and help support this vital program by going to backcountryawareness.com or simply call

801-933-2147.

 
“Beacon Basin” is good to go and ready to use at the Noblett’s Trailhead. While you’re waiting for your partners 
to gear up, swing by and test your avalanche beacon skills. It’s free and easily accessible from the parking lot. A big thanks 
goes out to members of the Utah Snowmobile Association for assisting in the installation and to Backcountry Access for 
providing all the gear. 
 
A special thanks to Tri-City Performance, Polaris and The Utah Snowmobile Association for stepping up to the plate 
and partnering to provide a new sled for the Utah Avalanche Center’s western Uinta avalanche forecasting program. 
 
The Moffit Peak weather station is up and running. 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.

Current Conditions:

An approaching Pacific storm system has got both barrels aimed at Utah and the next 12 to 24 hours should be very active in the weather department. Currently, under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures are already on the rise as a warm front is racing towards the region. Down at the trailheads it’s in the mid 20’s and along the high elevation ridges in the lower teens. West and northwesterly winds have been blowing strong since about 11:00 pm last night, with hourly averages in the low 30’s and gusts near 50 mph in the most wind exposed locations. A trace of new snow has fallen overnight and since Friday we’ve received close to 2 ½’ of snow in some favored, upper elevation locations. The riding and turning is a little tricky up high where you’ll find a mixture of wind damage and upside snow. However, mid elevation, wind sheltered shady slopes offer up good, settled creamy powder.

Avalanche Conditions:

By many standards the western Uinta’s have had a good snow year and the snowpack has been relatively strong and stable. I’ve seen tracks in places you wouldn’t dare go in other years and we’ve gotten away with a lot because the snowpack has been missing two key avalanche ingredients- a weak layer and a slab. I hope everyone has gotten their big mountain riding Jones out of their system for a while, because things are about to change and we could be headed for a dangerous avalanche cycle. The snowpack has become more complex in the past few weeks and we now have several buried weak layers which may become quite active with the onslaught of the upcoming storm. The first weak layer, a density inversion, is about a foot below the snows’ surface and probably won’t withstand a lot of weight before it starts to fail and we see avalanches early in the storm. What’s more of a concern are the near surface facets or sugary snow, which is now buried about 2’ down and that’ll take a little more of a load before it fails. Unfortunately when it does, avalanches will be bigger, deeper and more dangerous. The avalanche danger will be on the rise today and tomorrow and you’ll need to be on your toes and be aware of changing weather conditions. It’s not the same snowpack as it was last week and you’ll need to take the time to carefully assess each steep slope on an individual basis. Get as much information about the snowpack as you can, so you can make informed, educated decisions about your travel and terrain choices. The best bet right now is to be conservative and stick with wind sheltered, low angle terrain with no steep slopes above you.

Bottom Line:

For upper elevations, at and above tree-line, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are probable, natural avalanches possible.

A MODERATE avalanche danger exists at mid elevations on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent wind drifts. A MODERATE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are possible.

On low angle slopes in wind sheltered terrain the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

Mountain Weather:

Hang on to your hats… a strong warm front will come screaming into the region today and produce a period of moderate snowfall today and again tonight through most of Thursday. Strong westerly winds will accompany this system and we should see hourly averages in the low 30’s with gusts near 50 mph along the ridges. Temperatures will be on the rise today with highs at 8,000’ reaching into the low 30’s and at 10,000’ in the mid 20’s. Overnight lows dip into the low 20’s. This morning we should see 3”-6” of new snow, then a break late this afternoon before the next wave moves in bringing another 6” overnight. Snow continues on Thursday as colder air moves overhead and storm totals should be in the 12”-18” range before things start to wind down early Friday. A ridge of high pressure builds for the early part of the weekend before yet another storm slides through on Sunday.

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.

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.

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am on Saturday February 4, 2006 or sooner if conditions warrant.

Thanks for calling!