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.

Avalanche ADVISORY

sunDAY february 18, 2007

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated with a holiday advisory on Monday February 19, 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, February 18, 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.

Current Conditions:

Under clear skies this morning, temperatures are in the low 20’s at 8,000’ and mid teens at 10,000’. Southwesterly winds began to increase around 1:00 this morning, blowing 15-25 mph at most ridge top locations and in the 20-30 mph range along the highest peaks. The riding and turning conditions are quite good and low angle slopes are the ticket to avoid the punchy feeling of inverted snow.

Avalanche Conditions:

I hate to start off an advisory with bad news, but yesterday there was an avalanche fatality near Tower Mountain that occurred late in the day. While details are still being sifted through what I do know is one rider was caught and completely buried in a slide that was 2’-3’ deep, up to 300’ wide and running about 200 vertical feet. The riders were wearing avalanche beacons and the victim’s partners dug him out and began CPR. I’m planning on heading to the site to do an accident investigation this morning and will have details posted on Monday’s holiday advisory. My condolences and prayers go out to the young riders’ friends and family.

Yesterday was a very active avalanche day and numerous human triggered avalanches and close calls have been reported throughout the Uinta’s as well as the Wasatch. Close to home in the Whitney Basin, Ted Scroggin was out hunting the dragon and remotely triggered an avalanche near Gold Hill on a steep, east facing slope while skiing low angle terrain adjacent to the slide. The avalanche was 12”-14” deep, 150’ wide, running 150’ vertically. I’ve also heard numerous reports of people still experiencing loud whoomphing noises and shooting cracks… obvious indicators to unstable snow. Is it tricky out there?... you bet it is and there are plenty of steep slopes you can ride without incident, giving you a false sense of snow stability, luring you deeper into the avalanche dragon’s den. It’s not snow science however, and we need to remember our snowpack is weak and fragile and has just been walloped by a series of storms, delivering a one-two punch of dense heavy snow coupled with strong northwesterly winds. The sugary facets formed during the January dry spell are going to need some time to adjust to all this added weight. Persistent weak layers buried deep in the snowpack are notoriously tricky and much of the steep terrain that didn’t avalanche during the past two storm cycles now rests in a tenuous balance, waiting for a rider to come along and give it an extra thump. Avalanches triggered today still have the possibility of breaking into deeper buried weak layers, creating a large, dangerous and possibly unsurvivable avalanche. Also, you may be able to trigger avalanches from a distance, so even if you’re playing on low angle terrain, be aware of steep slopes above and adjacent to where you’re riding.

Bottom Line:

At and above tree line the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on all slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow, especially those with an easterly component to their aspect. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches are possible.

At mid and lower elevations the avalanche danger is MODERATE on recently wind loaded slopes and human triggered avalanches are possible.

Mountain Weather:

A splitting storm system will impact the region through Monday. Southwest winds will become noticeably stronger today, blowing 20-30 mph with gusts near 50 mph across the higher ridges. High temperatures at 10,000’ will be near freezing and at 8,000’ close to 40 degrees. Overnight lows dip into the upper teens. A cold front will move through in the early morning hours on Monday and there may be some light pre-frontal snow, but the bulk of the precipitation will fall behind the front. An unstable northwest flow will linger through Monday afternoon. Total snow accumulations of 6-10 inches are expected by Monday night. It looks like quiet weather for Tuesday and Wednesday with another storm possible by weeks’ end.

Announcements:

We finally got the Windy Peak weather station up and running. Click here for current conditions.

I’d like to thank Jim Shea, The Canyons and Colleen Graham from the Friends of the UAC for all their hard work in making the Know Before You Go fundraiser such a success!

The 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!

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 Monday February 19,2007.

This advisory is also available by calling 1-800-648-7433 or

1-888-999-4019.

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