Wasatch
Cache and Uinta National
Forests 
In partnership with:
Tri-City Performance, Polaris, the
Avalanche ADVISORY
wednesDAY
decemBER 27, 2006
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, and will be updated
Good Morning! This is Craig
Gordon with the
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 801-231-2170, or email at [email protected] and fill me in with all the details.
Current Conditions:
Skies are mostly cloudy
and light snow is starting to develop as a splitting storm system heads our way.
It’s mild with current temperatures in the mid to upper 20’s at the trailheads
and 10,000’ ridge top locations. Winds are out of the southwest with hourly
averages in the 20’s, gusting in the 40’s along the upper elevation ridgelines.
Despite the fact that no significant new snow has fallen in the past 24 hours,
the riding remains good and I’ve been finding excellent settled creamy powder
on sheltered shady slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
Yesterday morning
the winds blew out of the northwest, finding enough light density snow around
to whip it into fresh wind drifts near the ridges. Today, the winds have
switched ahead of an incoming storm and are gusting out of the southwest. So as
you might’ve guessed… our main avalanche concern is going to be recent wind
drifts which will be sensitive to the weight a rider today. Most of the wind
slabs have formed on a host of weak snow surfaces and I think you’ll be able to
trigger slabs up to about a foot deep this morning. As the day wears on and winds
stay busy at work, be aware the drifting will become more widespread and the
avalanche danger may increase, especially if we receive more snow than forecast.
I’m still
concerned about the weaknesses deeper in our snowpack, particularly in the mid
portion of the pack which represents the early December dry spell. In steep
rocky terrain you may still be able to trigger a deeper avalanche into older
snow wherever a strong stiff hard
slab rests on top of weak shallow snow. (Check out this recent
snowpit on Bald Mountain)
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
both old and recent deposits of wind drifted snow. A MODERATE avalanche danger means human
triggered avalanches are possible.
In wind sheltered terrain and at lower elevations
the avalanche danger is generally LOW today and human triggered avalanches are unlikely.
Mountain Weather:
I’m
afraid the splitting storm system headed our way is going to be all huff with
very little fluff. However, we should get enough new snow to freshen things up
a bit. Storm totals will probably be in the 4”-8” range. Look for snow developing
later this morning along with mild temperatures and strong winds through about
mid day. Highs at 8,000’ will be near 30 degrees and at 10,000’ in the mid 20’s.
Overnights lows dip into the teens as the flow shifts to the northwest later
tonight. Winds will be a nuisance, blowing out of the southwest at speeds of 20
mph gusting into the 50’s at the most exposed ridge top locations. Snow
densities should start off rather high, and then become lighter later with the
introduction of cold air. We should see scattered morning snow showers on
Thursday with much colder temperatures. Highs will only be in the low teens. On
tap for the rest of the week are partly cloudy skies on Friday and Saturday
with a hint of a system moving through sometime Sunday.
Announcements:
Come join us for a star studded fundraising ride on Saturday
Jan. 27th. Click here for
more details.
I want to thank the crew at Tri-City Performance in
Springville along with Polaris and the Utah Snowmobile Association for
partnering with the avalanche center and stepping up to the plate by providing
a new sled for this season! Click
here, to
see the new
ride!
Free avalanche awareness classes are available. Give
me a call at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]
and get one scheduled before the season gets too crazy!
If any terms confuse you, take a look at our new avalanche encyclopedia.
For avalanche photos click here.
General
Information:
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
This advisory is
also available by calling 1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.