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

sundAY february 12, 2006

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am wednesday february 15, 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 Sunday February 12, 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:

Skies are clear, winds light and variable and temperatures have risen into the teens and low 20’s overnight. Currently at 11,000’ it’s 16 degrees and it’s 21 degrees down at the trailheads. While we haven’t seen a flake of new snow in quite some time, in between the wind damaged snow at upper elevations, the crusty snow on sunny slopes and the hard, curb and gutter-like ruts left by old tracks, there is creamy settled powder which can still be found on sheltered shady slopes.

Avalanche Conditions:

Dry spells in the weather are always challenging for avalanche geeks like me. Just like in medieval times- if you’re the dragon slayer and there’s no dragons to slay… it gets pretty boring. With a mostly stable snowpack, there’s just not that much going on in the avalanche business right now. Yesterday, I went out searching for unstable snow and just about everything I stomped on felt pretty bomber to me. However, it’s not all that cut and dry as strong winds late last week did form some stiff hard slabs at the upper elevations. While isolated and pockety in nature, the added weight of a person may be enough to trigger one of these drifts. With a slick, hard bed-surface underneath for these avalanches to run on, they could easily knock you off you’re skis or machine, taking you for a fast body bruising ride into a group of trees or over a cliff band. In addition, you may be able to trigger a wet slide on steep, sunny slopes once the snow gets damp and gloppy. The best way to avoid this is simply move to a shadier aspect during the heat of the day.

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 isolated 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:

We should start the day with mostly sunny skies and by afternoon clouds will be on the increase, as a weak storm system approaches the area late this afternoon and passes to the east tonight. It’ll be another stellar day in the mountains with highs at 10,000’ near freezing and at 8,000’ in the upper 30’s. Overnight lows dip into the low 20’s and we may see a flurry or two this evening. Dry and stable weather returns for Monday, and then a cold front passes through Tuesday with some light afternoon snow and stronger winds. A change in the weather pattern is still on tap and it looks like the ridge will start to break down. We should see more snow Wednesday through the end of the week and colder temperatures are expected.

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 Wednesday February 15, 2006.

Thanks for calling!