Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

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

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

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Avalanche advisory

wednesdAY march 29, 2006

This advisory expires 24 hours from the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:30 am saturday april 1, 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 March 29, 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.

Current Conditions:

Another strong, albeit warm, Pacific storm has its sites set on Utah. Overnight, south and southwest winds have been raging along the ridges with hourly averages in the 20’s and 30’s and gusts in the low 50’s at the most wind exposed locations. With winds like that it’s hard to say exactly how much new snow has fallen, but it looks like 6” of dense heavy snow above 9,500’ and a rain/snow line hovering somewhere near 7,000’. Temperatures are quite mild down at the trailheads, right around 32 degrees, but up high at 11,000’ it’s still winter and temperatures are in the mid 20’s. Riding and sliding conditions are going to be a mixed bag and if you can stay dry enough to make it to the upper elevations; not only will you most likely be alone, you’ll probably be rewarded with some cold, creamy snow.

Avalanche Conditions:

An avalanche warning is in effect for the western Uinta Mountains as warm temperatures, strong winds and heavy wet snow all add up to a day of rising avalanche danger. It’ll be tricky out there today and this isn’t the time to get lulled into a false sense of security thinking this storm is just like all the others this year… it’s not. This is the first real load the snowpack has seen in quite some time and it’s getting walloped. Remember- snowpacks get cranky when they go through a rapid change and the dense heavy snow that’s already fallen coupled with more expected today along with nuking winds will all conspire to form dense, dangerous hard slabs. Today’s avalanches have the possibility of breaking into deeper buried weak layers, producing a large, dangerous and unmanageable avalanche, especially at the upper elevations. You’ll want to avoid steep, upper elevation, wind loaded slopes and steer clear of any smooth, rounded, fat looking pillow of snow. As the snow stacks up and the wind continues to howl, think about crossing potential avalanche prone slopes one at a time, have an escape route planned and keep an eye on your partner.

Now to really keep you on your toes, down below about 9,000’ light rain fell yesterday and the overnight refreeze was marginal at best. At mid and lower elevations the snowpack is damp, soggy and punchy… not much fun to ride on. In addition to getting stuck, I think you could trigger a wet sluff or even a wet slab at lower elevations particularly on steep, north facing slopes. Avoid terrain traps such as gullies or road cuts where wet avalanche debris, which has the consistency of concrete, can pile up deeply.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger in upper elevation terrain near and above tree-line is CONSIDERABLE today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, especially those with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible. Be aware of changing weather conditions and should the weather forecast verify, I’d expect the avalanche danger may rapidly rise to HIGH in this type of terrain.

At mid and low elevations the danger of wet avalanches is MODERATE today, especially on steep northerly facing slopes.

Mountain Weather:

A winter storm warning is in effect for the area and we could see storm totals in the 12”-18” range before the storm exits the region late tonight. Today look for strong southerly winds particularly in the morning with hourly averages in the upper 20’s and gusts in the 30’s and 40’s along the ridges. A good burst of snow should slide through the area this morning giving us an additional 4”-7” of snow, and then it looks like a break in the action as winds shift to the west and northwest. With the arrival of colder air, more snow is expected beginning late this afternoon. Temperatures will remain fairly mild with highs at 8,000’ in the low 30’s and at 10,000’ in the mid to upper 20’s. Overnight lows will be near 20 degrees. Thursday we may see some residual, early morning snow showers before partly cloudy skies move in and brief high pressure builds. Highs will be in the mid 30’s. Friday starts off partly cloudy and mild with increasing afternoon winds and another storm is on tap for the weekend.

Announcements:

 
If any terms confuse you, take a look at our new avalanche encyclopedia.
 
“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.

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 April 1, 2006.

Thanks for calling!