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
Good Evening! This is Craig
Gordon with the
This
advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to
Avalanche Conditions:
An
avalanche warning is in effect for the western
West and southwest winds
blew strong Wednesday night and raged all day Thursday with hourly averages in
the upper 40’s, gusting to 73 mph along the high peaks. The winds
stripped many upper elevation ridgelines down to bare ground, transporting
an amazing amount of snow in a short period of time onto leeward slopes. Dave,
Ted and I braved the hurricane
force winds and tried to look at the recent avalanche activity at the upper
elevations this morning, but the winds were so strong they were rocking our
sleds while we rode along the ridges, nearly blowing us over into
The past month or so,
I’ve been talking about how dangerous the avalanche conditions would be if it
ever decided to snow again or if the winds blew…. well my friends the time is
upon us! Today’s strong winds resulted in several natural avalanches and this
is only a precursor of what’s to come. With a good shot of snow on the way, all
of the dangerous slabs formed today will be hard to detect by morning. This
false sense of strong snow under your machine, skis or board will lure you well
onto a steep slope before it fails. Avalanches triggered on Friday have the possibility
of being large, dangerous and unsurvivable. You’ll need to avoid being on,
connected to, or underneath any steep slope.
Bottom Line:
The avalanche danger is HIGH
on all slopes steeper than about 30 degrees in steepness, especially those with
recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Avalanches will occur with human and
natural triggers. Backcountry travel is not recommended.
Mountain Weather:
A
strong Pacific cold front will bring heavy snow to the mountains tonight
through Friday. Snow will develop around
Announcements:
I completed a
preliminary investigation on the avalanche accident that occurred on Saturday
Feb.17th in
We finally got the
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
This advisory is also available by calling
1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.