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.
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated on Wednesday January 31,
2007.
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,
January 28, 2007 and it’s about 7:00 in the morning. Avalanche advisories for
the western Uinta’s are available on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and all
holidays and are brought to you in partnership with Utah State Parks and
Recreation.
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.
Yesterday’s
first annual western Uinta fundraising ride was an amazing success with nearly
150 people showing up for the ride alone!
I want to thank
the Jim Shea Family Foundation, Rocky Mountain Sledders, the Wasatch Snowmobile
Association and the Utah Snowmobile Association for all their tireless work in
putting the event together. Thanks again to Team Thunderstruck and the
Boondockers crew for helping out and schooling even the most experienced
riders. Also, we couldn’t have pulled it off if it weren’t for Chad Booth who
did an incredible job as both master of ceremonies and auctioneer. Finally, it
wouldn’t have been possible without the support of everyone who attended… you
folks are awesome!
Current Conditions:
The ridge of high
pressure that’s virtually shut off any significant storm activity remains
firmly entrenched over the area, giving us clear skies and cool temperatures
this morning. At 10,000’ it’s in the mid teens and right around 10 degrees at
the trailheads. Winds are out of the west and light even at the most exposed
locations, blowing 10-15 mph. The riding and turning conditions are pretty
grim, but the bright beautiful sunshine and fresh mountain air make a peak
bagging trip well worth the effort.
Avalanche Conditions:
Yesterday’s
outing brought us into terrain around Daniel’s Summit where we got to see some
of the shallowest and weakest snow anywhere in the range. Nearly everyone I
spoke with commented about the lack of snow and how there was no structure or
base to the snowpack. Kinda like riding in a sandbox. Brett did a great job summing
up the state of the snowpack on yesterday’s advisory and not much has changed
in the past 24 hours. At upper elevations there may be an old tired wind slab
or two that could grab your attention, but for the most part they’re shallow
and very manageable. In the bigger scheme of things, the snowpack continues to
grow weaker with time, especially in terrain where the pack is less than about
two feet or so. Overshadowing the avalanche danger right now is the possibility
of slamming into a buried stump or rock.
Bottom Line:
On most slopes throughout the range the avalanche
danger is generally LOW
today and human triggered avalanches are unlikely.
Mountain Weather:
Today
should be mostly sunny with some high clouds drifting through the area late in
the day. Temperatures will be slightly cooler with highs at 10,000’ in the mid
20’s and at 8,000’ near freezing. Under clearing skies, overnight lows drop
into the low teens. Winds should remain well behaved, out of the west and
southwest, blowing 10-15 with an occasional gust in the low 20’s. The weather
pattern looks depressingly similar throughout the week, though the computer
models hint at the possibility of a weak storm system around Wednesday night
that may give us a small shot of snow and cooling temperatures.
Announcements:
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 Beacon Basin at the Noblett’s Trailhead
and it’s good to go. I want to thank Doug, Bill, Jared, Brad and Wally who
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 7:00 am on Wednesday January 31, 2007.
This advisory is
also available by calling 1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.