In partnership with:
Tri-City Performance, Polaris, the
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated on Sunday January 21, 2007.
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.
Come join us for
a star studded fundraising ride on Saturday Jan. 27th. Click here for more details or call 801-963-3819.
Current Conditions:
High clouds are drifting
by the state this morning ahead of a cold front which should slide through the
area late tonight, giving us the first measurable shot of snow in some time.
Winds are light along the ridges, blowing out of the northwest at 5-10 mph, but
near the highest peaks the winds are blowing in the upper teens with gusts near
30 mph. Temperatures remain inverted and it’s about as cold in Salt Lake this
morning as it is at most trailhead elevations. 8,000’ temperatures are right
around 12 degrees and it’s 18 degrees at 10,000’. The
riding and turning conditions are starting to look pretty bleak, but among the
breakable sun crusts, old hard-molar-rattling tracks and thin cover, you can
still find patches of soft settled powder on protected shady slopes.
Avalanche Conditions:
I’m starting to
feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. It’s déjà vu all over again…
which would actually make it vuja de. None the less,
the avalanche conditions haven’t changed much all week and the snowpack remains
relatively stable, though in many areas throughout the range the packs strength
is deteriorating, especially in rocky terrain. The combination of clear cold days
and nights, an erratic storm track and snow depths shallower than average have
allowed the snowpack to grow weak and faceted over time. Both the surface snow
and the snow near the ground has weakened significantly during our dry January
and once it starts snowing or blowing again, we’ll see avalanches. For today
however, shallow sluffs on steep shady slopes and an occasional old, rogue wind
slab near the ridges are going to be the main avalanche problems. Either one is manageable and a well placed slope cut high on
the slope would be a good defensive measure. As always think about the consequences
of triggering an avalanche, especially with all the hard slick bed surfaces
underneath.
Bottom Line:
On most slopes throughout the range the avalanche
danger is generally LOW.
In upper elevation terrain above tree line there are
isolated pockets of MODERATE
avalanche danger today on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees,
especially those with both new and old wind drifts. A MODERATE avalanche danger means
human triggered avalanches are possible.
Mountain Weather:
A
cold Pacific storm will drop south across
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!
We installed
unselfishly
took time out of their powder day to help out the riding community… you guys
rock!
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.
.