Wasatch
Cache and Uinta National Forests
In partnership with:
Tri-City
Performance, Polaris, the
avalanche advisory
sunday april 1, 2007
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated Wednesday April 4, 2007.
Sunday, April 8th will be the last of our
regularly scheduled advisories for the season.
Good Morning! This is Craig
Gordon with the
This
advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to
Current Conditions:
Under a veil of partly cloudy skies and a big,
bright, beautiful moon it was a mild night in the mountains and most locations
barely dipped below freezing. Currently at 10,000’ it’s near 30 degrees and at
the trailhead elevations right around 32 degrees. Yesterday’s blustery west
winds calmed down overnight and are now blowing 15-25 mph with a gust or two in
the low 30’s along the high ridges. Mostly cloudy skies on Saturday helped preserve
the upper elevation powder and good riding conditions still exist on shady
slopes above about 9,800’.
Avalanche Conditions:
The combination of cloud
cover, cool temperatures and brisk winds helped keep the wet avalanche activity
at bay yesterday, but today I think we may see a little more sunshine so the
routine might change a bit. Depending on where you are during the day, if the
sun comes out even for a brief amount of time, it’ll bake steep sun exposed
slopes, instantly turning the light fluffy mid-week powder to mashed potatoes.
Once the snow gets zapped it’ll be easier to trigger wet
avalanches which are usually slow moving, but can pile up huge amounts of
debris, especially in terrain
traps such as gullies or steep road cuts. You know the drill- as the snow
becomes damp and gloppy avoid being on or underneath
steep sun exposed slopes, especially during the heat of the day.
In addition to our wet
avalanche concerns, gusty ridge-top winds Friday night and Saturday were strong
enough to transport snow, creating shallow wind slabs
along the
leeward side of upper elevation ridges, and yesterday I found these on any
slope with an easterly component. While most of these wind drifts probably
settled out overnight, be cautious if you’re punching out bold lines on steep,
upper elevation north, northeast and east facing slopes. Even though the
avalanche conditions are pretty manageable, a well placed slope cut on
steep slopes will be the ticket, giving you a good feel for the stability
of the slope. Finally, there are some hard slick bed surfaces for avalanches to
run on, so think about the consequences of triggering even a shallow slide and
going for an unexpected body beating ride down a steep slope, into a group of
trees or over a cliff… now that’ll ruin your day!
Bottom Line:
On most slopes throughout
the range the avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning, rising to MODERATE on
steep sun-exposed slopes during the heat of the day. A MODERATE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanche are
possible.
Wind drifted slopes above
tree-line, especially those steeper than about 35 degrees, have pockets of MODERATE
avalanche danger. Human triggered dry snow avalanches are possible particularly
on north, northeast and east facing slopes.
Mountain Weather:
Partly
cloudy skies should be with us for most of the morning before another in a
series of weak weather disturbances brushes by the region. Highs at 8,000’ will
be in the low to mid 40’s and at 10,000’ near 38 degrees. A cold front
overnight should help to drive temperatures into the low 20’s. Winds will shift
to the west-southwest generally blowing 15-25 mph, but should be stronger in
the afternoon as the cold front approaches. A dusting of snow is expected
overnight. Monday should be mostly cloudy and cooler with a scattered flurry or
two. The ridge returns for Tuesday and early Wednesday giving us mostly sunny
skies and highs in the mid 40’s. Another weak storm may affect the region late Wednesday
into Thursday, and then a warm and dry period is slated for next weekend.
Announcements:
I completed a preliminary
investigation on the avalanche accident that occurred on Saturday Feb.17th
in
We removed 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
Wednesday April 4, 2007.
This advisory is also available by calling
1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.