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 8, 2006

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am saturday february 11, 2006.

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 8, 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:

“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:

A ridge of high pressure is firmly entrenched over the region and strong temperature inversions are already starting to develop. Currently under clear skies, temperatures are in the mid 20’s at 11,000’ and in the mid teens at 8,000’. Winds are variable, blowing 10-20 mph along the highest ridges. No new snow has fallen since late Sunday, but the riding and sliding conditions remain quite good. Sunny slopes have developed a breakable crust and up high there is a bit of wind damage, though cold light powder can still be found on sheltered shady slopes.

Avalanche Conditions:

After a long stretch of snowy days the weather pattern has dried out and surprisingly enough our snowpack is relatively well behaved. While the avalanche danger is generally low that doesn’t mean there is no danger. Early yesterday morning winds increased and formed some wind drifts on the leeward side of ridges at the upper elevations. While these should be easy to manage today, be aware that triggering even a small slide could ruin your day if you get slammed into a group of trees or carried over a cliff. In addition, the sun is getting high in the sky and it’s beginning to affect not only southerly facing slopes, but low elevation north facing aspects as well. If you’re on a slope where the snow is getting damp and gloppy, simply move to a cooler aspect to avoid triggering a wet slide. Finally, yesterday in Little Cottonwood Canyon two avalanche workers were inspecting a recent avalanche when a group above them inadvertently dropped a cornice, triggering a small avalanche and taking one of the workers for a ride. Both professionals are lucky they didn’t get hurt or killed, though a lot of gear was lost. With so many people crawling all over the backcountry, the point here is to think about people who may be traveling below you or even a fellow rider who’s stuck on a slope. If you’re going to ride a bold line or drop into a steep chute, use some backcountry etiquette and wait for people to clear out from below you.

Bottom Line:

In wind sheltered terrain the snowpack is mostly stable and the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

For upper elevations above tree line, there are pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger on any slope steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. A MODERATE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanche are possible.

Mountain Weather:

Sunny skies and warm temperatures are on tap for the next couple of days as high pressure dominates the weather pattern. High temperatures at 10,000’ will be in the mid 30’s and at 8,000’ near 44 degrees. Overnight lows will drop into the upper teens. Northerly winds should be in the 10-20 mph range along the ridges and will decrease throughout the day. The weather pattern remains the same through about Sunday when it looks like we’ll see cooler weather and maybe a chance of a flurry or two. A stronger cold front is expected on Tuesday.

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 11, 2006.

Thanks for calling!