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 Saturday March 3, 2007.
Good Morning! This is Craig
Gordon with the
This
advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to
Current Conditions:
Winter roared back with a vengeance yesterday and
storm totals for the past 24 hours are nearing 2’ in locations favored by a
northwest flow. Starting in the southern half of the range, from Daniels Summit
north to
Avalanche Conditions:
What a storm…yesterday’s intense
cold front slammed into the mountains with raging winds gusting into the upper
50’s and snowfall rates of 3” an hour! Just getting to the hills was an epic
adventure unto itself. While only a handful of folks were able to get out into
the mountains yesterday, several reports from very experienced travelers
indicate widespread cracking and collapsing of the snowpack, even on relatively
low angle slopes. With a little bit of visibility today we may be able to see
how our fragile snowpack faired to the sudden wallop from yesterday’s storm. My
gut feeling is many slopes avalanched naturally, but those that didn’t are
waiting for one of us to come along and kick the legs out from under the slab
which now rests in a tenuous balance. Triggering an avalanche today could have
devastating consequences because it may break into deeper buried weak layers
which are now covered over with several feet of new snow. The key to riding
safely today is going to rest on making good terrain choices and staying off of
and out from under steep slopes. You may still be able to trigger avalanches
from a distance and clues such as whoomphing noises or collapses and cracking
in the snowpack are giant red flags. Remember- the biggest clue to avalanches…is
avalanches. If you’re seeing natural avalanche activity on the same types of
slopes you want to ride on, you’ll want to think about altering your travel
plans.
Bottom Line:
At mid and upper elevations the avalanche danger is
CONSIDERABLE on all slopes steeper than about 35 degrees,
especially those facing the north half of the compass with both old and recent
deposits of wind drifted snow. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered
avalanches are probable, natural avalanches possible.
At low elevations the avalanche danger is MODERATE on northerly
facing slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with both old and recent wind
drifts and human triggered avalanches are possible.
Mountain Weather:
A short-lived break in the action this morning will be followed by
another cold system dropping into the area late this afternoon. Look for
increasing clouds with snow showers likely by this evening lasting through early
Friday morning. Storm totals should be around a foot. Temperatures will remain cold
with highs at 8,000’ in the upper teens and at 10,000’ near 12 degrees. Overnight
lows near zero are expected. Winds should remain relatively light for most of
the day, out of the north and northeast, but will shift to the west and
increase this afternoon with gusts in the mid 30’s along the high ridges. As
the trough begins to move east Friday, scattered snow showers are still
possible. High pressure builds for the weekend.
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 7:00 am on Saturday
March 3, 2007.
This advisory is also available by calling
1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.